Systems and methods for cooperative, dynamic, and balanced access to the infrastructure supporting the network of moving things, for example including autonomous vehicles

ABSTRACT

Communication network architectures, systems and methods for supporting a network of mobile and/or static nodes, including for example autonomous vehicles. As a non-limiting example, various aspects of this disclosure provide communication network architectures, systems, and methods that provide for cooperative, dynamic, and balanced access to the communication network infrastructure supporting the Network of Moving Things.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This patent application makes reference to, claims priority to, andclaims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/510,010, filed on May 23, 2017, and titled “Systems and Methods forCooperative, Dynamic, and Balanced Access to the InfrastructureSupporting the Network of Moving Things, for example IncludingAutonomous Vehicles,” which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

The present application is also related to U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/221,997, titled “Integrated Communication Network for aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,016, titled “Systems and Methods forSynchronizing a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,042, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Managing a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,066, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Monitoring a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,077, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Detecting and Classifying Anomalies in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/222,098, titled “Systems and Methods for Managing Mobility in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,121, titled “Systems and Methods forManaging Connectivity a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,135, titled “Systemsand Methods for Collecting Sensor Data in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/222,145, titled “Systems and Methods for Interfacing with a Networkof Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/222,150, titled “Systems and Methods for Interfacing with aUser of a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,168, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Data Storage and Processing for a Network of Moving Things,” filedon Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,183,titled “Systems and Methods for Vehicle Traffic Management in a Networkof Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/222,186, titled “Systems and Methods for EnvironmentalManagement in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,190, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Port Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/222,192, titled“Communication Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/244,828, titled “UtilizingHistorical Data to Correct GPS Data in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Oct. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/244,930, titled “Using Anchors to Correct GPS Data in a Network ofMoving Things,” filed on Oct. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/246,368, titled “Systems and Methods for Inter-applicationCommunication in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Oct. 26, 2015;U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/246,372, titled “Systems andMethods for Probing and Validating Communication in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Oct. 26, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/250,544, titled “Adaptive Rate Control for Vehicular Networks,” filedon Nov. 4, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/273,878,titled “Systems and Methods for Reconfiguring and Adapting Hardware in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 31, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/253,249, titled “Systems and Methods forOptimizing Data Gathering in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Nov.10, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/257,421, titled“Systems and Methods for Delay Tolerant Networking in a Network ofMoving Things,” filed on Nov. 19, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/265,267, titled “Systems and Methods for Improving Coverageand Throughput of Mobile Access Points in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 9, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/270,858,titled “Channel Coordination in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onDec. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/257,854, titled“Systems and Methods for Network Coded Mesh Networking in a Network ofMoving Things,” filed on Nov. 20, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/260,749, titled “Systems and Methods for Improving FixedAccess Point Coverage in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Nov. 30,2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/273,715, titled “Systemsand Methods for Managing Mobility Controllers and Their NetworkInteractions in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 31, 2015;U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/281,432, titled “Systems andMethods for Managing and Triggering Handovers of Mobile Access Points ina Network of Moving Things,” filed on Jan. 21, 2016; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/268,188, titled “Captive Portal-related Controland Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 16, 2015;U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/270,678, titled “Systems andMethods to Extrapolate High-Value Data from a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/272,750, titled “Systems and Methods for Remote Software Update andDistribution in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 30, 2015;U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/278,662, titled “Systems andMethods for Remote Configuration Update and Distribution in a Network ofMoving Things,” filed on Jan. 14, 2016; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/286,243, titled “Systems and Methods for Adapting a Networkof Moving Things Based on User Feedback,” filed on Jan. 22, 2016; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/278,764, titled “Systems and Methodsto Guarantee Data Integrity When Building Data Analytics in a Network ofMoving Things,” Jan. 14, 2016; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/286,515, titled “Systems and Methods for Self-Initialization andAutomated Bootstrapping of Mobile Access Points in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Jan. 25, 2016; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/295,602, titled “Systems and Methods for Power Management in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Feb. 16, 2016; and U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/299,269, titled “Systems and Methods forAutomating and Easing the Installation and Setup of the InfrastructureSupporting a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Feb. 24, 2016; each ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND

Current communication networks are unable to adequately supportcommunication environments involving mobile and static nodes. As anon-limiting example, current communication networks are unable toadequately support a network comprising a complex array of both movingand static nodes (e.g., the Internet of moving things, autonomousvehicle networks, etc.). Limitations and disadvantages of conventionalmethods and systems will become apparent to one of skill in the art,through comparison of such approaches with some aspects of the presentmethods and systems set forth in the remainder of this disclosure withreference to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a communication network, in accordancewith various aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a communication network, in accordancewith various aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows a diagram of a metropolitan area network, in accordancewith various aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a communication network, in accordancewith various aspects of this disclosure.

FIGS. 5A-5C show a plurality of network configurations illustrating theflexibility and/or and resiliency of a communication network, inaccordance with various aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of an example communication network, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows still another block diagram of an example communicationnetwork 700, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of an example communication network, inaccordance with various aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram of an example method of managingcommunication network infrastructure access, in accordance with variousaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 shows a diagram of an example pricing function, in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of an example network node, in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

Various aspects of this disclosure provide communication networkarchitectures, systems and methods for supporting a network of mobileand/or static nodes, for example including autonomous vehicles. As anon-limiting example, various aspects of this disclosure providecommunication network architectures, systems, and methods that providefor cooperative, dynamic, and balanced access to the communicationnetwork infrastructure supporting the Network of Moving Things.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE

As utilized herein the terms “circuits” and “circuitry” refer tophysical electronic components (i.e., hardware) and any software and/orfirmware (“code”) that may configure the hardware, be executed by thehardware, and or otherwise be associated with the hardware. As usedherein, for example, a particular processor and memory (e.g., a volatileor non-volatile memory device, a general computer-readable medium, etc.)may comprise a first “circuit” when executing a first one or more linesof code and may comprise a second “circuit” when executing a second oneor more lines of code. Additionally, a circuit may comprise analogand/or digital circuitry. Such circuitry may, for example, operate onanalog and/or digital signals. It should be understood that a circuitmay be in a single device or chip, on a single motherboard, in a singlechassis, in a plurality of enclosures at a single geographical location,in a plurality of enclosures distributed over a plurality ofgeographical locations, etc. Similarly, the term “module” may, forexample, refer to a physical electronic components (i.e., hardware) andany software and/or firmware (“code”) that may configure the hardware,be executed by the hardware, and or otherwise be associated with thehardware.

As utilized herein, circuitry is “operable” to perform a functionwhenever the circuitry comprises the necessary hardware and code (if anyis necessary) to perform the function, regardless of whether performanceof the function is disabled, or not enabled (e.g., by auser-configurable setting, factory setting or trim, etc.).

As utilized herein, “and/or” means any one or more of the items in thelist joined by “and/or”. As an example, “x and/or y” means any elementof the three-element set {(x), (y), (x, y)}. That is, “x and/or y” means“one or both of x and y.” As another example, “x, y, and/or z” means anyelement of the seven-element set {(x), (y), (z), (x, y), (x, z), (y, z),(x, y, z)}. That is, “x, y, and/or z” means “one or more of x, y, andz.” As utilized herein, the terms “e.g.,” and “for example,”“exemplary,” and the like set off lists of one or more non-limitingexamples, instances, or illustrations.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexamples only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. Asused herein, the singular forms are intended to include the plural formsas well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will befurther understood that the terms “comprises,” “includes,” “comprising,”“including,” “has,” “have,” “having,” and the like when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps,operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. maybe used herein to describe various elements, these elements should notbe limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish oneelement from another element. Thus, for example, a first element, afirst component or a first section discussed below could be termed asecond element, a second component or a second section without departingfrom the teachings of the present disclosure. Similarly, various spatialterms, such as “upper,” “lower,” “side,” and the like, may be used indistinguishing one element from another element in a relative manner. Itshould be understood, however, that components may be oriented indifferent manners, for example an electronic device may be turnedsideways so that its “top” surface is facing horizontally and its “side”surface is facing vertically, without departing from the teachings ofthe present disclosure.

With the proliferation of the mobile and/or static things (e.g.,devices, machines, people, etc.) and logistics for such things to becomeconnected to each other (e.g., in the contexts of smart logistics,transportation, environmental sensing, etc.), a platform that is forexample always-on, robust, scalable and secure that is capable ofproviding connectivity, services and Internet access to such things (orobjects), anywhere and anytime is desirable. Efficient power utilizationwithin the various components of such system is also desirable.

Accordingly, various aspects of the present disclosure provide afully-operable, always-on, responsive, robust, scalable, secureplatform/system/architecture to provide connectivity, services andInternet access to all mobile things and/or static things (e.g.,devices, machines, people, access points, end user devices, sensors,etc.) anywhere and anytime, while operating in an energy-efficientmanner.

Various aspects of the present disclosure provide a platform that isflexibly configurable and adaptable to the various requirements,features, and needs of different environments, where each environmentmay be characterized by a respective level of mobility and density ofmobile and/or static things, and the number and/or types of access tothose things. Characteristics of various environments may, for example,include high mobility of nodes (e.g., causing contacts or connections tobe volatile), high number of neighbors, high number of connected mobileusers, mobile access points, availability of multiple networks andtechnologies (e.g., sometimes within a same area), etc. For example, themode of operation of the platform may be flexibly adapted fromenvironment to environment, based on each environment's respectiverequirements and needs, which may be different from other environments.Additionally for example, the platform may be flexibly optimized (e.g.,at design/installation time and/or in real-time) for different purposes(e.g., to reduce the latency, increase throughput, reduce powerconsumption, load balance, increase reliability, make more robust withregard to failures or other disturbances, etc.), for example based onthe content, service or data that the platform provides or handleswithin a particular environment.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, manycontrol and management services (e.g., mobility, security, routing,etc.) are provided on top of the platform (e.g., directly, using controloverlays, using containers, etc.), such services being compatible withthe services currently deployed on top of the Internet or othercommunication network(s).

The communication network (or platform), in whole or in part, may forexample be operated in public and/or private modes of operation, forexample depending on the use case. The platform may, for example,operate in a public or private mode of operation, depending on theuse-case (e.g., public Internet access, municipal environment sensing,fleet operation, etc.).

Additionally for example, in an implementation in which various networkcomponents are mobile, the transportation and/or signal controlmechanisms may be adapted to serve the needs of the particularimplementation. Also for example, wireless transmission power and/orrate may be adapted (e.g., to mitigate interference, to reduce powerconsumption, to extend the life of network components, etc.

Various example implementations of a platform, in accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure, are capable of connectingdifferent subsystems, even when various other subsystems that maynormally be utilized are unavailable. For example, the platform maycomprise various built-in redundancies and fail-recovery mechanisms. Forexample, the platform may comprise a self-healing capability,self-configuration capability, self-adaptation capability, etc. Theprotocols and functions of the platform may, for example, be prepared tobe autonomously and smoothly configured and adapted to the requirementsand features of different environments characterized by different levelsof mobility and density of things (or objects), the number/types ofaccess to those things. For example, various aspects of the platform maygather context parameters that can influence any or all decisions. Suchparameters may, for example, be derived locally, gathered from aneighborhood, fixed APs, the Cloud, etc. Various aspects of the platformmay also, for example, ask for historical information to feed any of thedecisions, where such information can be derived from historical data,from surveys, from simulators, etc. Various aspects of the platform mayadditionally, for example, probe or monitor decisions made throughoutthe network, for example to evaluate the network and/or the decisionsthemselves in real-time. Various aspects of the platform may further,for example, enforce the decisions in the network (e.g., afterevaluating the probing results). Various aspects of the platform may,for example, establish thresholds to avoid any decision that is to beconstantly or repeatedly performed without any significant advantage(e.g., technology change, certificate change, IP change, etc.). Variousaspects of the platform may also, for example, learn locally (e.g., withthe decisions performed) and dynamically update the decisions.

In addition to (or instead of) failure robustness, a platform mayutilize multiple connections (or pathways) that exist between distinctsub-systems or elements within the same sub-system, to increase therobustness and/or load-balancing of the system.

The following discussion will present examples of the functionalityperformed by various example subsystems of the communication network. Itshould be understood that the example functionality discussed hereinneed not be performed by the particular example subsystem or by a singlesubsystem. For example, the subsystems present herein may interact witheach other, and data or control services may be deployed either in acentralized way, or having their functionalities distributed among thedifferent subsystems, for example leveraging the cooperation between theelements of each subsystem.

Various aspects of the present disclosure provide a communicationnetwork (e.g., a city-wide vehicular network, a shipping port-sizedvehicular network, a campus-wide vehicular network, etc.) that utilizesvehicles (e.g., automobiles, buses, trucks, boats, forklifts,human-operated vehicles, autonomous and/or remote controlled vehicles,etc.) as Wi-Fi hotspots. Note that Wi-Fi is generally used throughoutthis discussion as an example, but the scope of various aspects of thisdisclosure is not limited thereto. For example, other wireless LANtechnologies, PAN technologies, MAN technologies, etc., may be utilized.Such utilization may, for example, provide cost-effective ways to gathersubstantial amounts of urban data, and provide for the efficientoffloading of traffic from congested cellular networks (or othernetworks). In controlled areas (e.g., ports, harbors, etc.) with manyvehicles, a communication network in accordance with various aspects ofthis disclosure may expand the wireless coverage of existing enterpriseWi-Fi networks, for example providing for real-time communication withvehicle drivers (e.g., human, computer-controlled, etc.) and othermobile employees without the need for SIM cards or cellular (or othernetwork) data plans.

Vehicles may have many advantageous characteristics that make themuseful as Wi-Fi (or general wireless) hotspots. For example, vehiclesgenerally have at least one battery, vehicles are generally denselyspread over the city at street level and/or they are able to establishmany contacts with each other in a controlled space, and vehicles cancommunicate with 10 x the range of normal Wi-Fi in the 5.9 GHz frequencyband, reserved for intelligent transportation systems in the EU, theU.S., and elsewhere. Note that the scope of this disclosure is notlimited to such 5.9 GHz wireless communication. Further, vehicles areable to effectively expand their coverage area into a swath over aperiod of time, enabling a single vehicle access point to interact withsubstantially more data sources over the period of time.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, anaffordable multi-network on-board unit (OBU) is presented. Note that theOBU may also be referred to herein as a mobile access point, Mobile AP,MAP, etc. The OBU may, for example, comprise a plurality of networkinginterfaces (e.g., Wi-Fi, 802.11p, 4G, Bluetooth, UWB, etc.). The OBUmay, for example, be readily installed in or on private and/or publicvehicles (e.g., individual user vehicles, vehicles of private fleets,vehicles of public fleets, etc.). The OBU may, for example, be installedin transportation fleets, waste management fleets, law enforcementfleets, emergency services, road maintenance fleets, taxi fleets,aircraft fleets, etc. The OBU may, for example, be installed in or on avehicle or other structure with free mobility or relatively limitedmobility. The OBU may also, for example, be carried by a person orservice animal, mounted to a bicycle, mounted to a moving machine ingeneral, mounted to a container, etc.

The OBUs may, for example, operate to connect passing vehicles to thewired infrastructure of one or more network providers, telecomoperators, etc. In accordance with the architecture, hardware, andsoftware functionality discussed herein, vehicles and fleets can beconnected not just to the cellular networks (or other wide area ormetropolitan area networks, etc.) and existing Wi-Fi hotspots spreadover a city or a controlled space, but also to other vehicles (e.g.,utilizing multi-hop communications to a wired infrastructure, single ormulti-hop peer-to-peer vehicle communication, etc.). The vehicles and/orfleets may, for example, form an overall mesh of communication links,for example including the OBUs and also fixed Access Points (APs)connected to the wired infrastructure (e.g., a local infrastructure,etc.). Note that OBUs herein may also be referred to as “Mobile APs,”“mobile hotspots,” “MAPs,” etc. Also note that fixed access points mayalso be referred to herein as Road Side Units (RSUs), Fixed APs, FAPs,etc.

In an example implementation, the OBUs may communicate with the FixedAPs utilizing a relatively long-range protocol (e.g., 802.11p, etc.),and the Fixed APs may, in turn, be hard wired to the wiredinfrastructure (e.g., via cable, tethered optical link, etc.). Note thatFixed APs may also, or alternatively, be coupled to the infrastructurevia wireless link (e.g., 802.11p, etc.). Additionally, clients or userdevices may communicate with the OBUs using one or more relativelyshort-range protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, UWB, etc.). The OBUs, forexample having a longer effective wireless communication range thantypical Wi-Fi access points or other wireless LAN/PAN access points(e.g., at least for links such as those based on 802.11p, etc.), arecapable of substantially greater coverage areas than typical Wi-Fi orother wireless LAN/PAN access points, and thus fewer OBUs are necessaryto provide blanket coverage over a geographical area.

The OBU may, for example, comprise a robust vehicular networking module(e.g., a connection manager) which builds on long-range communicationprotocol capability (e.g., 802.11p, etc.). For example, in addition tocomprising 802.11p (or other long-range protocol) capability tocommunicate with Fixed APs, vehicles, and other nodes in the network,the OBU may comprise a network interface (e.g., 802.11a/b/g/n, 802.11ac,802.11af, any combination thereof, etc.) to provide wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) connectivity to end user devices, sensors, fixed Wi-Fiaccess points, etc. For example, the OBU may operate to providein-vehicle Wi-Fi Internet access to users in and/or around the vehicle(e.g., a bus, train car, taxi cab, public works vehicle, etc.). The OBUmay further comprise one or more wireless backbone communicationinterfaces (e.g., cellular network interfaces, etc.). Though in variousexample scenarios, a cellular network interface (or other wirelessbackbone communication interface) might not be the preferred interfacefor various reasons (e.g., cost, power, bandwidth, etc.), the cellularnetwork interface may be utilized to provide connectivity ingeographical areas that are not presently supported by a Fixed AP, maybe utilized to provide a fail-over communication link, may be utilizedfor emergency communications, may be utilized to subscribe to localinfrastructure access, etc. The cellular network interface may also, forexample, be utilized to allow the deployment of solutions that aredependent on the cellular network operators.

An OBU, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure,may for example comprise a smart connection manager that can select thebest available wireless link(s) (e.g., Wi-Fi, 802.11p, cellular, vehiclemesh, etc.) with which to access the Internet. The OBU may also, forexample, provide geo-location capabilities (e.g., GPS, etc.), motiondetection sensors to determine if the vehicle is in motion, and a powercontrol subsystem (e.g., to ensure that the OBU does not deplete thevehicle battery, etc.). The OBU may, for example, comprise any or all ofthe sensors (e.g., environmental sensors, etc.) discussed herein.

The OBU may also, for example, comprise a manager that managesmachine-to-machine data acquisition and transfer (e.g., in a real-timeor delay-tolerant fashion) to and from the cloud. For example, the OBUmay log and/or communicate information of the vehicles.

The OBU may, for example, comprise a connection and/or routing managerthat operates to perform routing of communications in avehicle-to-vehicle/vehicle-to-infrastructure multi-hop communication. Amobility manager (or controller, MC) may, for example, ensure thatcommunication sessions persist over one or more handoff(s) (alsoreferred to herein as a “handover” or “handovers”) (e.g., betweendifferent Mobile APs, Fixed APs, base stations, hot spots, etc.), amongdifferent technologies (e.g., 802.11p, cellular, Wi-Fi, satellite,etc.), among different MCs (e.g., in a fail-over scenario, loadredistribution scenario, etc.), across different interfaces (or ports),etc. Note that the MC may also be referred to herein as a Local MobilityAnchor (LMA), a Network Controller, etc. Note that the MC, or aplurality thereof, may for example be implemented as part of thebackbone, but may also, or alternatively, be implemented as part of anyof a variety of components or combinations thereof. For example, the MCmay be implemented in a Fixed AP (or distributed system thereof), aspart of an OBU (or a distributed system thereof), etc. Variousnon-limiting examples of system components and/or methods are providedin U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/222,098, filed Sep. 22, 2015, andtitled “Systems and Method for Managing Mobility in a Network of MovingThings,” the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein byreference. Note that in an example implementation including a pluralityof MCs, such MCs may be co-located and/or may be geographicallydistributed.

Various aspects of the present disclosure also provide a cloud-basedservice-oriented architecture that handles the real-time management,monitoring and reporting of the network and clients, the functionalitiesrequired for data storage, processing and management, the Wi-Fi clientauthentication and Captive Portal display, etc.

A communication network (or component thereof) in accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure may, for example, support awide range of smart city applications (or controlled scenarios, orconnected scenarios, etc.) and/or use-cases, as described herein.

For example, an example implementation may operate to turn each vehicle(e.g., both public and private taxis, buses, trucks, etc.) into a MobileAP (e.g., a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot), offering Internet access toemployees, passengers and mobile users travelling in the city, waitingin bus stops, sitting in parks, etc. Moreover, through an examplevehicular mesh network formed between vehicles and/or fleets ofvehicles, an implementation may be operable to offload cellular trafficthrough the mobile Wi-Fi hotspots and/or fixed APs (e.g., 802.11p-basedAPs) spread over the city and connected to the wired infrastructure ofpublic or private telecom operators in strategic places, while ensuringthe widest possible coverage at the lowest possible cost.

An example implementation (e.g., of a communication network and/orcomponents thereof) may, for example, be operable as a massive urbanscanner that gathers large amounts of data (e.g., continuously)on-the-move, actionable or not, generated by a myriad of sourcesspanning from the in-vehicle sensors or On Board Diagnostic System port(e.g., OBD2, etc.), interface with an autonomous vehicle driving system,external Wi-Fi/Bluetooth-enabled sensing units spread over the city,devices of vehicles' drivers and passengers (e.g., informationcharacterizing such devices and/or passengers, etc.), positioning systemdevices (e.g., position information, velocity information, trajectoryinformation, travel history information, etc.), etc.

Depending on the use case, the OBU may for example process (or computer,transform, manipulate, aggregate, summarize, etc.) the data beforesending the data from the vehicle, for example providing the appropriategranularity (e.g., value resolution) and sampling rates (e.g., temporalresolution) for each individual application. For example, the OBU may,for example, process the data in any manner deemed advantageous by thesystem. The OBU may, for example, send the collected data (e.g., rawdata, preprocessed data, information of metrics calculated based on thecollected data, etc.) to the Cloud (e.g., to one or more networkedservers coupled to any portion of the network) in an efficient andreliable manner to improve the efficiency, environmental impact andsocial value of municipal city operations and transportation services.Various example use cases are described herein.

In an example scenario in which public buses are moving along cityroutes and/or taxis are performing their private transportationservices, the OBU is able to collect large quantities of real-time datafrom the positioning systems (e.g., GPS, etc.), from accelerometermodules, etc. The OBU may then, for example, communicate such data tothe Cloud, where the data may be processed, reported and viewed, forexample to support such public or private bus and/or taxi operations,for example supporting efficient remote monitoring and scheduling ofbuses and taxis, respectively.

In an example implementation, small cameras (or other sensors) may becoupled to small single-board computers (SBCs) that are placed above thedoors of public buses to allow capturing image sequences of peopleentering and leaving buses, and/or on stops along the bus routes inorder to estimate the number of people waiting for a bus. Such data maybe gathered by the OBU in order to be sent to the Cloud. With such data,public transportation systems may detect peaks; overcrowded buses,routes and stops; underutilized buses, routes and stops; etc., enablingaction to be taken in real-time (e.g., reducing bus periodicity todecrease fuel costs and CO₂ emissions where and when passenger flows aresmaller, etc.) as well as detecting systematic transportation problems.

An OBU may, for example, be operable to communicate with any of avariety of Wi-Fi-enabled sensor devices equipped with a heterogeneouscollection of environmental sensors. Such sensors may, for example,comprise noise sensors (microphones, etc.), gas sensors (e.g., sensingCO, NO₂, O₃, volatile organic compounds (or VOCs), CO₂, etc.), smokesensors, pollution sensors, meteorological sensors (e.g., sensingtemperature, humidity, luminosity, particles, solar radiation, windspeed (e.g., anemometer), wind direction, rain (e.g., a pluviometer),optical scanners, biometric scanners, cameras, microphones, etc.). Suchsensors may also comprise sensors associated with users (e.g., vehicleoperators or passengers, passersby, etc.) and/or their personal devices(e.g., smart phones or watches, biometrics sensors, wearable sensors,implanted sensors, etc.). Such sensors may, for example, comprisesensors and/or systems associated with on-board diagnostic (OBD) unitsfor vehicles, autonomous vehicle driving systems, etc. Such sensors may,for example, comprise positioning sensors (e.g., GPS sensors, Galileosensors, GLONASS sensors, etc.). Note that such positioning sensors maybe part of a vehicle's operational system (e.g., a localhuman-controlled vehicle, an autonomous vehicle, a remotehuman-controlled vehicle, etc.) Such sensors may, for example, comprisecontainer sensors (e.g., garbage can sensors, shipping containersensors, container environmental sensors, container tracking sensors,etc.).

Once a vehicle enters the vicinity of such a sensor device, a wirelesslink may be established, so that the vehicle (or OBU thereof) cancollect sensor data from the sensor device and upload the collected datato a database in the Cloud. The appropriate action can then be taken. Inan example waste management implementation, several waste management (orcollection) trucks may be equipped with OBUs that are able toperiodically communicate with sensors installed on containers in orderto gather information about waste level, time passed since lastcollection, etc. Such information may then sent to the Cloud (e.g., to awaste management application coupled to the Internet, etc.) through thevehicular mesh network, in order to improve the scheduling and/orrouting of waste management trucks. Note that various sensors may alwaysbe in range of the Mobile AP (e.g., vehicle-mounted sensors). Note thatthe sensor may also (or alternatively) be mobile (e.g., a sensor mountedto another vehicle passing by a Mobile AP or Fixed AP, a drone-mountedsensor, a pedestrian-mounted sensor, etc.).

In an example implementation, for example in a controlled space (e.g., aport, harbor, airport, factory, plantation, mine, etc.) with manyvehicles, machines and employees, a communication network in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure may expand the wirelesscoverage of enterprise and/or local Wi-Fi networks, for example withoutresorting to a Telco-dependent solution based on SIM cards or cellularfees. In such an example scenario, apart from avoiding expensivecellular data plans, limited data rate and poor cellular coverage insome places, a communication network in accordance with various aspectsof the present disclosure is also able to collect and/or communicatelarge amounts of data, in a reliable and real-time manner, where suchdata may be used to optimize harbor logistics, transportationoperations, etc.

For example in a port and/or harbor implementation, by gatheringreal-time information on the position, speed, fuel consumption and CO₂emissions of the vehicles, the communication network allows a portoperator to improve the coordination of the ship loading processes andincrease the throughput of the harbor. Also for example, thecommunication network enables remote monitoring of drivers' behaviors,behaviors of autonomous vehicles and/or control systems thereof, trucks'positions and engines' status, and then be able to provide real-timenotifications to drivers (e.g., to turn on/off the engine, follow theright route inside the harbor, take a break, etc.), for example humandrivers and/or automated vehicle driving systems, thus reducing thenumber and duration of the harbor services and trips. Harbor authoritiesmay, for example, quickly detect malfunctioning trucks and abnormaltrucks' circulation, thus avoiding accidents in order to increase harborefficiency, security, and safety. Additionally, the vehicles can alsoconnect to Wi-Fi access points from harbor local operators, and provideWi-Fi Internet access to vehicles' occupants and surrounding harboremployees, for example allowing pilots to save time by filing reportsvia the Internet while still on the water.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a communication network 100, inaccordance with various aspects of this disclosure. Any or all of thefunctionality discussed herein may be performed by any or all of theexample components of the example network 100. Also, the example network100 may, for example, share any or all characteristics with the otherexample methods, method steps, systems, networks, and/or networkcomponents 200, 300, 400, 500-570, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, and 1100,discussed herein.

The example network 100, for example, comprises a Cloud that may, forexample comprise any of a variety of network level components. The Cloudmay, for example, comprise any of a variety of server systems executingapplications that monitor and/or control components of the network 100.Such applications may also, for example, manage the collection ofinformation from any of a large array of networked information sources,many examples of which are discussed herein. The Cloud (or a portionthereof) may also be referred to, at times, as an API. For example,Cloud (or a portion thereof) may provide one or more applicationprogramming interfaces (APIs) which other devices may use forcommunicating/interacting with the Cloud.

An example component of the Cloud may, for example, manageinteroperability with various multi-cloud systems and architectures.Another example component (e.g., a Cloud service component) may, forexample, provide various cloud services (e.g., captive portal services,authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) services, APIGateway services, etc.). An additional example component (e.g., aDevCenter component) may, for example, provide network monitoring and/ormanagement functionality, manage the implementation of software updates,etc. A further example component of the Cloud may manage data storage,data analytics, data access, etc. A still further example component ofthe Cloud may include any of a variety of third-partly applications andservices.

The Cloud may, for example, be coupled to the Backbone/CoreInfrastructure of the example network 100 via the Internet (e.g.,utilizing one or more Internet Service Providers). Though the Internetis provided by example, it should be understood that scope of thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto.

The Backbone/Core may, for example, comprise any one or more differentcommunication infrastructure components. For example, one or moreproviders may provide backbone networks or various components thereof.As shown in the example network 100 illustrated in FIG. 1, a Backboneprovider may provide wireline access (e.g., PSTN, fiber, cable, etc.).Also for example, a Backbone provider may provide wireless access (e.g.,Microwave, LTE/Cellular, 5G/TV Spectrum, etc.).

The Backbone/Core may also, for example, comprise one or more LocalInfrastructure Providers. The Backbone/Core may also, for example,comprise a private infrastructure (e.g., run by the network 100implementer, owner, etc.). The Backbone/Core may, for example, provideany of a variety of Backbone Services (e.g., AAA, Mobility, Monitoring,Addressing, Routing, Content services, Gateway Control services, etc.).

The Backbone/Core Infrastructure may comprise any of a variety ofcharacteristics, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. Forexample, the Backbone/Core may be compatible with different wireless orwired technologies for backbone access. The Backbone/Core may also beadaptable to handle public (e.g., municipal, city, campus, etc.) and/orprivate (e.g., ports, campus, etc.) network infrastructures owned bydifferent local providers, and/or owned by the network implementer orstakeholder. The Backbone/Core may, for example, comprise and/orinterface with different Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting(AAA) mechanisms.

The Backbone/Core Infrastructure may, for example, support differentmodes of operation (e.g., L2 in port implementations, L3 in on-landpublic transportation implementations, utilizing any one or more of aplurality of different layers of digital IP networking, any combinationsthereof, equivalents thereof, etc.) or addressing pools. TheBackbone/Core may also for example, be agnostic to the Cloud provider(s)and/or Internet Service Provider(s). Additionally for example, theBackbone/Core may be agnostic to requests coming from any or allsubsystems of the network 100 (e.g., Mobile APs or OBUs (On BoardUnits), Fixed APs or RSUs (Road Side Units), MCs (Mobility Controllers)or LMAs (Local Mobility Anchors) or Network Controllers, etc.) and/orthird-party systems.

The Backbone/Core Infrastructure may, for example, comprise the abilityto utilize and/or interface with different data storage/processingsystems (e.g., MongoDB, MySql, Redis, etc.). The Backbone/CoreInfrastructure may further, for example, provide different levels ofsimultaneous access to the infrastructure, services, data, etc.

The example network 100 may also, for example, comprise a Fixed HotspotAccess Network. Various example characteristics of such a Fixed HotspotAccess Network 200 are shown at FIG. 2. The example network 200 may, forexample, share any or all characteristics with the other examplemethods, method steps, systems, networks, and/or network components 100,300, 400, 500-570, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, and 1100, discussed herein.

In the example network 200, the Fixed APs (e.g., the proprietary APs,the public third party APs, the private third party APs, etc.) may bedirectly connected to the local infrastructure provider and/or to thewireline/wireless backbone. Also for example, the example network 200may comprise a mesh between the various APs via wireless technologies.Note, however, that various wired technologies may also be utilizeddepending on the implementation. As shown, different fixed hotspotaccess networks can be connected to a same backbone provider, but mayalso be connected to different respective backbone providers. In anexample implementation utilizing wireless technology for backboneaccess, such an implementation may be relatively fault tolerant. Forexample, a Fixed AP may utilize wireless communications to the backbonenetwork (e.g., cellular, 3G, LTE, other wide or metropolitan areanetworks, etc.) if the backhaul infrastructure is down. Also forexample, such an implementation may provide for relatively easyinstallation (e.g., a Fixed AP with no cable power source that can beplaced virtually anywhere).

In the example network 200, the same Fixed AP can simultaneously provideaccess to multiple Fixed APs, Mobile APs (e.g., vehicle OBUs, etc.),devices, user devices, sensors, things, etc. For example, a plurality ofmobile hotspot access networks (e.g., OBU-based networks, etc.) mayutilize the same Fixed AP. Also for example, the same Fixed AP canprovide a plurality of simultaneous accesses to another single unit(e.g., another Fixed AP, Mobile AP, device, etc.), for example utilizingdifferent channels, different radios, etc.).

Note that a plurality of Fixed APs may be utilized forfault-tolerance/fail-recovery purposes. In an example implementation, aFixed AP and its fail-over AP may both be normally operational (e.g., ina same switch). Also for example, one or more Fixed APs may be placed inthe network at various locations in an inactive or monitoring mode, andready to become operational when needed (e.g., in response to a fault,in response to an emergency services need, in response to a data surge,etc.).

Referring back to FIG. 1, the example Fixed Hotspot Access Network isshown with a wireless communication link to a backbone provider (e.g.,to one or more Backbone Providers and/or Local InfrastructureProviders), to a Mobile Hotspot Access Network, to one or more End UserDevices, and to the Environment. Also, the example Fixed Hotspot AccessNetwork is shown with a wired communication link to one or more BackboneProviders, to the Mobile Hotspot Access Network, to one or more End UserDevices, and to the Environment. The Environment may comprise any of avariety of devices (e.g., in-vehicle networks, devices, and sensors;autonomous vehicle networks, devices, and sensors; maritime (orwatercraft) and port networks, devices, and sensors; generalcontrolled-space networks, devices, and sensors; residential networks,devices, and sensors; disaster recovery & emergency networks, devices,and sensors; military and aircraft networks, devices, and sensors; smartcity networks, devices, and sensors; event (or venue) networks, devices,and sensors; underwater and underground networks, devices, and sensors;agricultural networks, devices, and sensors; tunnel (auto, subway,train, etc.) networks, devices, and sensors; parking networks, devices,and sensors; security and surveillance networks, devices, and sensors;shipping equipment and container networks, devices, and sensors;environmental control or monitoring networks, devices, and sensors;municipal networks, devices, and sensors; waste management networks,devices, and sensors, road maintenance networks, devices, and sensors,traffic management networks, devices, and sensors; advertising networks,devices and sensors; etc.).

The example network 100 of FIG. 1 also comprises a Mobile Hotspot AccessNetwork. Various example characteristics of such a Mobile Hotspot AccessNetwork 300 are shown at FIG. 3. Note that various fixed networkcomponents (e.g., Fixed APs) are also illustrated. The example network300 may, for example, share any or all characteristics with the otherexample methods, method steps, systems, networks, and/or networkcomponents 100, 200, 400, 500-570, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, and 1100,discussed herein.

The example network 300 comprises a wide variety of Mobile APs (orhotspots) that provide access to user devices, provide for sensor datacollection, provide multi-hop connectivity to other Mobile APs, etc. Forexample, the example network 300 comprises vehicles from differentfleets (e.g., aerial, terrestrial, underground, (under)water, etc.). Forexample, the example network 300 comprises one or more massdistribution/transportation fleets, one or more mass passengertransportation fleets, private/public shared-user fleets, privatevehicles, urban and municipal fleets, maintenance fleets, drones,watercraft (e.g., boats, ships, speedboats, tugboats, barges, etc.),emergency fleets (e.g., police, ambulance, firefighter, etc.), etc.

The example network 300, for example, shows vehicles from differentfleets directly connected and/or mesh connected, for example using sameor different communication technologies. The example network 300 alsoshows fleets simultaneously connected to different Fixed APs, which mayor may not belong to different respective local infrastructureproviders. As a fault-tolerance mechanism, the example network 300 mayfor example comprise the utilization of long-range wirelesscommunication network (e.g., cellular, 3G, 4G, LTE, etc.) in vehicles ifthe local network infrastructure is down or otherwise unavailable. Asame vehicle (e.g., Mobile AP or OBU) can simultaneously provide accessto multiple vehicles, devices, things, etc., for example using a samecommunication technology (e.g., shared channels and/or differentrespective channels thereof) and/or using a different respectivecommunication technology for each. Also for example, a same vehicle canprovide multiple accesses to another vehicle, device, thing, etc., forexample using a same communication technology (e.g., shared channelsand/or different respective channels thereof, and/or using a differentcommunication technology).

Additionally, multiple network elements may be connected together toprovide for fault-tolerance or fail recovery, increased throughput, orto achieve any or a variety of a client's networking needs, many ofexamples of which are provided herein. For example, two Mobile APs (orOBUs) may be installed in a same vehicle, etc.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the example Mobile Hotspot Access Network isshown with a wireless communication link to a backbone provider (e.g.,to one or more Backbone Providers and/or Local InfrastructureProviders), to a Fixed Hotspot Access Network, to one or more End UserDevice, and to the Environment (e.g., to any one of more of the sensorsor systems discussed herein, any other device or machine, etc.). Thoughthe Mobile Hotspot Access Network is not shown having a wired link tothe various other components, there may (at least at times) be such awired link, at least temporarily.

The example network 100 of FIG. 1 also comprises a set of End-UserDevices. Various example end user devices are shown at FIG. 4. Note thatvarious other network components (e.g., Fixed Hotspot Access Networks,Mobile Hotspot Access Network(s), the Backbone/Core, etc.) are alsoillustrated. The example network 400 may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the other example methods, method steps, systems,networks, and/or network components 100, 200, 300, 500-570, 600, 700,800, 900, 1000, and 1100, discussed herein.

The example network 400 shows various mobile networked devices. Suchnetwork devices may comprise end-user devices (e.g., smartphones,tablets, smartwatches, laptop computers, webcams, personal gamingdevices, personal navigation devices, personal media devices, personalcameras, health-monitoring devices, personal location devices,monitoring panels, printers, etc.). Such networked devices may alsocomprise any of a variety of devices operating in the generalenvironment, where such devices might not for example be associated witha particular user (e.g. any or all of the sensor devices discussedherein, vehicle sensors, municipal sensors, fleet sensors road sensors,environmental sensors, security sensors, traffic sensors, waste sensors,meteorological sensors, any of a variety of different types of municipalor enterprise equipment, etc.). Any of such networked devices can beflexibly connected to distinct backbone, fixed hotspot access networks,mobile hotspot access networks, etc., using the same or differentwired/wireless technologies.

A mobile device may, for example, operate as an AP to providesimultaneous access to multiple devices/things, which may then form adhoc networks, interconnecting devices ultimately connected to distinctbackbone networks, fixed hotspot, and/or mobile hotspot access networks.Devices (e.g., any or all of the devices or network nodes discussedherein) may, for example, have redundant technologies to access distinctbackbone, fixed hotspot, and/or mobile hotspot access networks, forexample for fault-tolerance and/or load-balancing purposes (e.g.,utilizing multiple SIM cards, etc.). A device may also, for example,simultaneously access distinct backbone, fixed hotspot access networks,and/or mobile hotspot access networks, belonging to the same provider orto different respective providers. Additionally for example, a devicecan provide multiple accesses to another device/thing (e.g., viadifferent channels, radios, etc.).

Referring back to FIG. 1, the example End-User Devices are shown with awireless communication link to a backbone provider (e.g., to one or moreBackbone Providers and/or Local Infrastructure Providers), to a FixedHotspot Access Network, to a Mobile Hotspot Access Network, and to theEnvironment. Also for example, the example End-User Devices are shownwith a wired communication link to a backbone provider, to a FixedHotspot Access Network, to a Mobile Hotspot Access Network, and to theEnvironment.

The example network 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 has a flexiblearchitecture that is adaptable at implementation time (e.g., fordifferent use cases) and/or adaptable in real-time, for example asnetwork components enter and leave service. FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate suchflexibility by providing example modes (or configurations). The examplenetworks 500-570 may, for example, share any or all characteristics withthe other example methods, method steps, systems, networks, and/ornetwork components 100, 200, 300, 400, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, and1100, discussed herein. For example and without limitation, any or allof the communication links (e.g., wired links, wireless links, etc.)shown in the example networks 500-570 are generally analogous tosimilarly positioned communication links shown in the example network100 of FIG. 1.

For example, various aspects of this disclosure provide communicationnetwork architectures, systems, and methods for supporting a dynamicallyconfigurable communication network comprising a complex array of bothstatic and moving communication nodes (e.g., the Internet of movingthings). For example, a communication network implemented in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure may operate in one of aplurality of modalities comprising various fixed nodes, mobile nodes,and/or a combination thereof, which are selectable to yield any of avariety of system goals (e.g., increased throughput, reduced latency andpacket loss, increased availability and robustness of the system, extraredundancy, increased responsiveness, increased security in thetransmission of data and/or control packets, reduced number ofconfiguration changes by incorporating smart thresholds (e.g., change oftechnology, change of certificate, change of IP, etc.), providingconnectivity in dead zones or zones with difficult access, reducing thecosts for maintenance and accessing the equipment forupdating/upgrading, etc.). At least some of such modalities may, forexample, be entirely comprised of fixed-position nodes, at leasttemporarily if not permanently.

For illustrative simplicity, many of the example aspects shown in theexample system or network 100 of FIG. 1 (and other Figures herein) areomitted from FIGS. 5A-5C, but may be present. For example, the Cloud,Internet, and ISP aspects shown in FIG. 1 and in other Figures are notexplicitly shown in FIGS. 5A-5C, but may be present in any of theexample configurations (e.g., as part of the backbone provider networkor coupled thereto, as part of the local infrastructure provider networkor coupled thereto, etc.).

For example, the first example mode 500 is presented as a normalexecution mode, for example a mode (or configuration) in which all ofthe components discussed herein are present. For example, thecommunication system in the first example mode 500 comprises a backboneprovider network, a local infrastructure provider network, a fixedhotspot access network, a mobile hotspot access network, end-userdevices, and environment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the first example mode 500 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the localinfrastructure provider network (or any component thereof), fixedhotspot access network (or any component thereof), the end-user devices,and/or environment devices via a wired link. Note that such a wiredcoupling may be temporary. Also note that in various exampleconfigurations, the backbone provider network may also, at leasttemporarily, be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot accessnetwork (or any component thereof) via one or more wired (or tethered)links.

Also shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the first example mode 500 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the fixed hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the mobile hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Also note that in various example configurations,the backbone provider network may also be communicatively coupled to thelocal infrastructure provider network via one or more wireless (ornon-tethered) links.

Though not shown in the first example mode 500 (or any of the examplemodes of FIGS. 5A-5C), one or more servers may be communicativelycoupled to the backbone provider network and/or the local infrastructurenetwork. FIG. 1 provides an example of cloud servers beingcommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network via theInternet.

As additionally shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, thelocal infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled toany or all of the other elements present in the first example mode 500(or configuration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. Forexample, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), fixed hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wired links. Note that such a wired coupling may be temporary. Alsonote that in various example configurations, the local infrastructureprovider network may also, at least temporarily, be communicativelycoupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or any component thereof)via one or more wired (or tethered) links.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the first example mode 500 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), the fixed hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the mobile hotspot access network (or any component thereof),the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one or morewireless links. Note that the communication link shown in the firstexample mode 500 of FIG. 5A between the local infrastructure providernetwork and the fixed hotspot access network may be wired and/orwireless.

The fixed hotspot access network is also shown in the first example mode500 to be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot access network,the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein. Additionally, the mobile hotspot access network is further shownin the first example mode 500 to be communicatively coupled to theend-user devices and/or environment devices via one or more wirelesslinks. Many examples of such wireless coupling are provided herein.Further, the end-user devices are also shown in the first example mode500 to be communicatively coupled to the environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling areprovided herein. Note that in various example implementations any ofsuch wireless links may instead (or in addition) comprise a wired (ortethered) link.

In the first example mode 500 (e.g., the normal mode), information (ordata) may be communicated between an end-user device and a server (e.g.,a computer system) via the mobile hotspot access network, the fixedhotspot access network, the local infrastructure provider network,and/or the backbone provider network. As will be seen in the variousexample modes presented herein, such communication may flexibly occurbetween an end-user device and a server via any of a variety ofdifferent communication pathways, for example depending on theavailability of a network, depending on bandwidth utilization goals,depending on communication priority, depending on communication time (orlatency) and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. Forexample, information communicated between an end user device and aserver may be communicated via the fixed hotspot access network, thelocal infrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone providernetwork (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network). Also forexample, information communicated between an end user device and aserver may be communicated via the backbone provider network (e.g.,skipping the mobile hotspot access network, fixed hotspot accessnetwork, and/or local infrastructure provider network).

Similarly, in the first example mode 500 (e.g., the normal mode),information (or data) may be communicated between an environment deviceand a server via the mobile hotspot access network, the fixed hotspotaccess network, the local infrastructure provider network, and/or thebackbone provider network. Also for example, an environment device maycommunicate with or through an end-user device (e.g., instead of or inaddition to the mobile hotspot access network). As will be seen in thevarious example modes presented herein, such communication may flexiblyoccur between an environment device and a server (e.g., communicativelycoupled to the local infrastructure provider network and/or backboneprovider network) via any of a variety of different communicationpathways, for example depending on the availability of a network,depending on bandwidth utilization goals, depending on communicationpriority, depending on communication time (or latency) and/orreliability constraints, depending on cost, etc.

For example, information communicated between an environment device anda server may be communicated via the fixed hotspot access network, thelocal infrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone providernetwork (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network). Also forexample, information communicated between an environment device and aserver may be communicated via the backbone provider network (e.g.,skipping the mobile hotspot access network, fixed hotspot accessnetwork, and/or local infrastructure provider network). Additionally forexample, information communicated between an environment device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider network(e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network and/or fixed hotspotaccess network).

As discussed herein, the example networks presented herein areadaptively configurable to operate in any of a variety of differentmodes (or configurations). Such adaptive configuration may occur atinitial installation and/or during subsequent controlled networkevolution (e.g., adding or removing any or all of the network componentsdiscussed herein, expanding or removing network capacity, adding orremoving coverage areas, adding or removing services, etc.). Suchadaptive configuration may also occur in real-time, for example inresponse to real-time changes in network conditions (e.g., networks orcomponents thereof being available or not based on vehicle oruser-device movement, network or component failure, network or componentreplacement or augmentation activity, network overloading, etc.). Thefollowing example modes are presented to illustrate characteristics ofvarious modes in which a communication system may operate in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure. The following examplemodes will generally be discussed in relation to the first example mode500 (e.g., the normal execution mode). Note that such example modes aremerely illustrative and not limiting.

The second example mode (or configuration) 510 (e.g., a no backboneavailable mode) may, for example, share any or all characteristics withthe first example mode 500, albeit without the backbone provider networkand communication links therewith. For example, the communication systemin the second example mode 510 comprises a local infrastructure providernetwork, a fixed hotspot access network, a mobile hotspot accessnetwork, end-user devices, and environment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the localinfrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled to any orall of the other elements present in the second example mode 510 (orconfiguration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. For example,the local infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupledto the fixed hotspot access network (or any component thereof), theend-user devices, and/or environment devices via one or more wiredlinks. Note that such a wired coupling may be temporary. Also note thatin various example configurations, the local infrastructure providernetwork may also, at least temporarily, be communicatively coupled tothe mobile hotspot access network (or any component thereof) via one ormore wired (or tethered) links.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the second example mode 510 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the fixed hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the mobile hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Note that the communication link(s) shown in thesecond example mode 510 of FIG. 5A between the local infrastructureprovider network and the fixed hotspot access network may be wiredand/or wireless.

The fixed hotspot access network is also shown in the second examplemode 510 to be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot accessnetwork, the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling areprovided herein. Additionally, the mobile hotspot access network isfurther shown in the second example mode 510 to be communicativelycoupled to the end-user devices and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling areprovided herein. Further, the end-user devices are also shown in thesecond example mode 510 to be communicatively coupled to the environmentdevices via one or more wireless links. Many examples of such wirelesscoupling are provided herein. Note that in various exampleimplementations any of such wireless links may instead (or in addition)comprise a wired (or tethered) link.

In the second example mode 510 (e.g., the no backbone available mode),information (or data) may be communicated between an end-user device anda server (e.g., a computer, etc.) via the mobile hotspot access network,the fixed hotspot access network, and/or the local infrastructureprovider network. As will be seen in the various example modes presentedherein, such communication may flexibly occur between an end-user deviceand a server via any of a variety of different communication pathways,for example depending on the availability of a network, depending onbandwidth utilization goals, depending on communication priority,depending on communication time (or latency) and/or reliabilityconstraints, depending on cost, etc. For example, informationcommunicated between an end user device and a server may be communicatedvia the fixed hotspot access network and/or the local infrastructureprovider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network).Also for example, information communicated between an end user deviceand a server may be communicated via the local infrastructure providernetwork (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network and/or fixedhotspot access network).

Similarly, in the second example mode 510 (e.g., the no backboneavailable mode), information (or data) may be communicated between anenvironment device and a server via the mobile hotspot access network,the fixed hotspot access network, and/or the local infrastructureprovider network. Also for example, an environment device maycommunicate with or through an end-user device (e.g., instead of or inaddition to the mobile hotspot access network). As will be seen in thevarious example modes presented herein, such communication may flexiblyoccur between an environment device and a server (e.g., communicativelycoupled to the local infrastructure provider network) via any of avariety of different communication pathways, for example depending onthe availability of a network, depending on bandwidth utilization goals,depending on communication priority, depending on communication time (orlatency) and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc.

For example, information communicated between an environment device anda server may be communicated via the fixed hotspot access network and/orthe local infrastructure provider network (e.g., skipping the mobilehotspot access network). Also for example, information communicatedbetween an environment device and a server may be communicated via thelocal infrastructure provider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspotaccess network and/or fixed hotspot access network).

The second example mode 510 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. Forexample, due to security and/or privacy goals, the second example mode510 may be utilized so that communication access to the public Cloudsystems, the Internet in general, etc., is not allowed. For example, allnetwork control and management functions may be within the localinfrastructure provider network (e.g., wired local network, etc.) and/orthe fixed access point network.

In an example implementation, the communication system might be totallyowned, operated and/or controlled by a local port authority. No extraexpenses associated with cellular connections need be spent. Forexample, cellular connection capability (e.g., in Mobile APs, Fixed APs,end user devices, environment devices, etc.) need not be provided. Notealso that the second example mode 510 may be utilized in a scenario inwhich the backbone provider network is normally available but iscurrently unavailable (e.g., due to server failure, due to communicationlink failure, due to power outage, due to a temporary denial of service,etc.).

The third example mode (or configuration) 520 (e.g., a no localinfrastructure and fixed hotspots available mode) may, for example,share any or all characteristics with the first example mode 500, albeitwithout the local infrastructure provider network, the fixed hotspotaccess network, and communication links therewith. For example, thecommunication system in the third example mode 520 comprises a backboneprovider network, a mobile hotspot access network, end-user devices, andenvironment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the third example mode 520 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the end-user devicesand/or environment devices via one or more wired links. Note that such awired coupling may be temporary. Also note that in various exampleconfigurations, the backbone provider network may also, at leasttemporarily, be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot accessnetwork (or any component thereof) via one or more wired (or tethered)links.

Also shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the third example mode 520 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wireless links.

The mobile hotspot access network is further shown in the third examplemode 520 to be communicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/orenvironment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein. Further, the end-userdevices are also shown in the third example mode 520 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein. Note that in various example implementations any of suchwireless links may instead (or in addition) comprise a wired (ortethered) link.

In the third example mode 520 (e.g., the no local infrastructure andfixed hotspots available mode), information (or data) may becommunicated between an end-user device and a server (e.g., a computer,etc.) via the mobile hotspot access network and/or the backbone providernetwork. As will be seen in the various example modes presented herein,such communication may flexibly occur between an end-user device and aserver via any of a variety of different communication pathways, forexample depending on the availability of a network, depending onbandwidth utilization goals, depending on communication priority,depending on communication time (or latency) and/or reliabilityconstraints, depending on cost, etc. For example, informationcommunicated between an end user device and a server may be communicatedvia the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspotaccess network).

Similarly, in the third example mode 520 (e.g., the no localinfrastructure and fixed hotspots available mode), information (or data)may be communicated between an environment device and a server via themobile hotspot access network and/or the backbone provider network. Alsofor example, an environment device may communicate with or through anend-user device (e.g., instead of or in addition to the mobile hotspotaccess network). As will be seen in the various example modes presentedherein, such communication may flexibly occur between an environmentdevice and a server (e.g., communicatively coupled to the backboneprovider network) via any of a variety of different communicationpathways, for example depending on the availability of a network,depending on bandwidth utilization goals, depending on communicationpriority, depending on communication time (or latency) and/orreliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. For example,information communicated between an environment device and a server maybe communicated via the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping themobile hotspot access network).

In the third example mode 520, all control/management functions may forexample be implemented within the Cloud. For example, since the mobilehotspot access network does not have a communication link via a fixedhotspot access network, the Mobile APs may utilize a direct connection(e.g., a cellular connection) with the backbone provider network (orCloud). If a Mobile AP does not have such capability, the Mobile AP mayalso, for example, utilize data access provided by the end-user devicescommunicatively coupled thereto (e.g., leveraging the data plans of theend-user devices).

The third example mode 520 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation, the third example mode 520 may be utilized in anearly stage of a larger deployment, for example deployment that willgrow into another mode (e.g., the example first mode 500, example fourthmode 530, etc.) as more communication system equipment is installed.Note also that the third example mode 520 may be utilized in a scenarioin which the local infrastructure provider network and fixed hotspotaccess network are normally available but are currently unavailable(e.g., due to equipment failure, due to communication link failure, dueto power outage, due to a temporary denial of service, etc.).

The fourth example mode (or configuration) 530 (e.g., a no fixedhotspots available mode) may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the first example mode 500, albeit without thefixed hotspot access network and communication links therewith. Forexample, the communication system in the fourth example mode 530comprises a backbone provider network, a local infrastructure providernetwork, a mobile hotspot access network, end-user devices, andenvironment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the fourth example mode 530 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the localinfrastructure provider network (or any component thereof), the end-userdevices, and/or environment devices via one or more wired links. Notethat such a wired coupling may be temporary. Also note that in variousexample configurations, the backbone provider network may also, at leasttemporarily, be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot accessnetwork (or any component thereof) via one or more wired (or tethered)links.

Also shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the fourth example mode 530 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wireless links. Also note that in various exampleconfigurations, the backbone provider network may also becommunicatively coupled to the local infrastructure provider network viaone or more wireless (or non-tethered) links.

As additionally shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, thelocal infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled toany or all of the other elements present in the fourth example mode 530(or configuration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. Forexample, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wired links. Note that such a wired coupling may betemporary. Also note that in various example configurations, the localinfrastructure provider network may also, at least temporarily, becommunicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof) via one or more wired (or tethered) links.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the fourth example mode 530 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), the mobile hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links.

The mobile hotspot access network is further shown in the fourth examplemode 530 to be communicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/orenvironment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein. Further, the end-userdevices are also shown in the fourth example mode 530 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein.

In the fourth example mode 530 (e.g., the no fixed hotspots mode),information (or data) may be communicated between an end-user device anda server via the mobile hotspot access network, the local infrastructureprovider network, and/or the backbone provider network. As will be seenin the various example modes presented herein, such communication mayflexibly occur between an end-user device and a server via any of avariety of different communication pathways, for example depending onthe availability of a network, depending on bandwidth utilization goals,depending on communication priority, depending on communication time (orlatency) and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. Forexample, information communicated between an end user device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider networkand/or the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspotaccess network). Also for example, information communicated between anend user device and a server may be communicated via the backboneprovider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access networkand/or local infrastructure provider network).

Similarly, in the fourth example mode 530 (e.g., the no fixed hotspotsavailable mode), information (or data) may be communicated between anenvironment device and a server via the mobile hotspot access network,the local infrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone providernetwork. Also for example, an environment device may communicate with orthrough an end-user device (e.g., instead of or in addition to themobile hotspot access network). As will be seen in the various examplemodes presented herein, such communication may flexibly occur between anenvironment device and a server (e.g., communicatively coupled to thelocal infrastructure provider network and/or backbone provider network)via any of a variety of different communication pathways, for exampledepending on the availability of a network, depending on bandwidthutilization goals, depending on communication priority, depending oncommunication time (or latency) and/or reliability constraints,depending on cost, etc.

For example, information communicated between an environment device anda server may be communicated via the local infrastructure providernetwork and/or the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the mobilehotspot access network). Also for example, information communicatedbetween an environment device and a server may be communicated via thebackbone provider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot accessnetwork and/or local infrastructure provider network). Additionally forexample, information communicated between an environment device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider network(e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network and/or backboneprovider network).

In the fourth example mode 530, in an example implementation, some ofthe control/management functions may for example be implemented withinthe local backbone provider network (e.g., within a client premises).For example, communication to the local infrastructure provider may beperformed through the backbone provider network (or Cloud). Note that ina scenario in which there is a direct communication pathway between thelocal infrastructure provider network and the mobile hotspot accessnetwork, such communication pathway may be utilized.

For example, since the mobile hotspot access network does not have acommunication link via a fixed hotspot access network, the Mobile APsmay utilize a direct connection (e.g., a cellular connection) with thebackbone provider network (or Cloud). If a Mobile AP does not have suchcapability, the Mobile AP may also, for example, utilize data accessprovided by the end-user devices communicatively coupled thereto (e.g.,leveraging the data plans of the end-user devices).

The fourth example mode 530 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation, the fourth example mode 530 may be utilized inan early stage of a larger deployment, for example a deployment thatwill grow into another mode (e.g., the example first mode 500, etc.) asmore communication system equipment is installed. The fourth examplemode 530 may, for example, be utilized in a scenario in which there isno fiber (or other) connection available for Fixed APs (e.g., in amaritime scenario, in a plantation scenario, etc.), or in which a FixedAP is difficult to access or connect. For example, one or more MobileAPs of the mobile hotspot access network may be used as gateways toreach the Cloud. The fourth example mode 530 may also, for example, beutilized when a vehicle fleet and/or the Mobile APs associated therewithare owned by a first entity and the Fixed APs are owned by anotherentity, and there is no present agreement for communication between theMobile APs and the Fixed APs. Note also that the fourth example mode 530may be utilized in a scenario in which the fixed hotspot access networkis normally available but are currently unavailable (e.g., due toequipment failure, due to communication link failure, due to poweroutage, due to a temporary denial of service, etc.).

The fifth example mode (or configuration) 540 (e.g., a no mobilehotspots available mode) may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the first example mode 500, albeit without themobile hotspot access network and communication links therewith. Forexample, the communication system in the fifth example mode 540comprises a backbone provider network, a local infrastructure providernetwork, a fixed hotspot access network, end-user devices, andenvironment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the fifth example mode 540 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the localinfrastructure provider network (or any component thereof), fixedhotspot access network (or any component thereof), the end-user devices,and/or environment devices via one or more wired links. Note that such awired coupling may be temporary.

Also shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the fifth example mode 540 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the fixed hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wireless links. Also note that in various exampleconfigurations, the backbone provider network may also becommunicatively coupled to the local infrastructure provider network viaone or more wireless (or non-tethered) links.

As additionally shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, thelocal infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled toany or all of the other elements present in the fifth example mode 540(or configuration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. Forexample, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), fixed hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wired links. Note that such a wired coupling may be temporary. Alsonote that in various example configurations, the local infrastructureprovider network may also, at least temporarily, be communicativelycoupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or any component thereof)via one or more wired (or tethered) links.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the fifth example mode 540 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network, the fixedhotspot access network (or any component thereof), the end-user devices,and/or environment devices via one or more wireless links. Note that thecommunication link(s) shown in the fifth example mode 540 of FIG. 5Bbetween the local infrastructure provider network and the fixed hotspotaccess network may be wired and/or wireless.

The fixed hotspot access network is also shown in the fifth example mode540 to be communicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/orenvironment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein. Further, the end-userdevices are also shown in the fifth example mode 540 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein.

In the fifth example mode 540 (e.g., the no mobile hotspots availablemode), information (or data) may be communicated between an end-userdevice and a server via the fixed hotspot access network, the localinfrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone provider network.As will be seen in the various example modes presented herein, suchcommunication may flexibly occur between an end-user device and a servervia any of a variety of different communication pathways, for exampledepending on the availability of a network, depending on bandwidthutilization goals, depending on communication priority, depending oncommunication time (or latency) and/or reliability constraints,depending on cost, etc. For example, information communicated between anend user device and a server may be communicated via the localinfrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone provider network(e.g., skipping the fixed hotspot access network). Also for example,information communicated between an end user device and a server may becommunicated via the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the fixedhotspot access network and/or local infrastructure provider network).

Similarly, in the fifth example mode 540 (e.g., the no mobile hotspotsavailable mode), information (or data) may be communicated between anenvironment device and a server via the fixed hotspot access network,the local infrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone providernetwork. Also for example, an environment device may communicate with orthrough an end-user device (e.g., instead of or in addition to the fixedhotspot access network). As will be seen in the various example modespresented herein, such communication may flexibly occur between anenvironment device and a server (e.g., communicatively coupled to thelocal infrastructure provider network and/or backbone provider network)via any of a variety of different communication pathways, for exampledepending on the availability of a network, depending on bandwidthutilization goals, depending on communication priority, depending oncommunication time (or latency) and/or reliability constraints,depending on cost, etc.

For example, information communicated between an environment device anda server may be communicated via the local infrastructure providernetwork and/or the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the fixedhotspot access network). Also for example, information communicatedbetween an environment device and a server may be communicated via thebackbone provider network (e.g., skipping the fixed hotspot accessnetwork and/or local infrastructure provider network). Additionally forexample, information communicated between an environment device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider network(e.g., skipping the fixed hotspot access network and/or the backboneprovider network).

In the fifth example mode 540, in an example implementation, theend-user devices and environment devices may communicate directly toFixed APs (e.g., utilizing Ethernet, Wi-Fi, etc.). Also for example, theend-user devices and/or environment devices may communicate directlywith the backbone provider network (e.g., utilizing cellularconnections, etc.).

The fifth example mode 540 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation in which end-user devices and/or environmentdevices may communicate directly with Fixed APs, such communication maybe utilized instead of Mobile AP communication. For example, the fixedhotspot access network might provide coverage for all desired areas.

Note also that the fifth example mode 540 may be utilized in a scenarioin which the fixed hotspot access network is normally available but iscurrently unavailable (e.g., due to equipment failure, due tocommunication link failure, due to power outage, due to a temporarydenial of service, etc.).

The sixth example mode (or configuration) 550 (e.g., the no fixed/mobilehotspots and local infrastructure available mode) may, for example,share any or all characteristics with the first example mode 500, albeitwithout the local infrastructure provider network, fixed hotspot accessnetwork, mobile hotspot access network, and communication linkstherewith. For example, the communication system in the sixth examplemode 550 comprises a backbone provider network, end-user devices, andenvironment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the sixth example mode 550 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the end-user devicesand/or environment devices via one or more wired links. Note that such awired coupling may be temporary.

Also shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the sixth example mode 550 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/or environmentdevices via one or more wireless links.

The end-user devices are also shown in the sixth example mode 550 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein.

In the sixth example mode 550 (e.g., the no fixed/mobile hotspots andlocal infrastructure available mode), information (or data) may becommunicated between an end-user device and a server via the backboneprovider network. Similarly, in the sixth example mode 550 (e.g., the nofixed/mobile hotspots and local infrastructure mode), information (ordata) may be communicated between an environment device and a server viathe backbone provider network. Also for example, an environment devicemay communicate with or through an end-user device (e.g., instead of orin addition to the mobile hotspot access network).

The sixth example mode 550 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation, for example in which an end-user has not yetsubscribed to the communication system, the end-user device maysubscribe to the system through a Cloud application and by communicatingdirectly with the backbone provider network (e.g., via cellular link,etc.). The sixth example mode 550 may also, for example, be utilized inrural areas in which Mobile AP presence is sparse, Fixed AP installationis difficult or impractical, etc.

Note also that the sixth example mode 550 may be utilized in a scenarioin which the infrastructure provider network, fixed hotspot accessnetwork, and/or mobile hotspot access network are normally available butare currently unavailable (e.g., due to equipment failure, due tocommunication link failure, due to power outage, due to a temporarydenial of service, etc.).

The seventh example mode (or configuration) 560 (e.g., the no backboneand mobile hotspots available mode) may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the first example mode 500, albeit without thebackbone provider network, mobile hotspot access network, andcommunication links therewith. For example, the communication system inthe seventh example mode 560 comprises a local infrastructure providernetwork, fixed hotspot access network, end-user devices, and environmentdevices.

As shown in FIG. 5C, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the localinfrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled to any orall of the other elements present in the seventh example mode 560 (orconfiguration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. For example,the local infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupledto the fixed hotspot access network (or any component thereof), theend-user devices, and/or environment devices via one or more wiredlinks. Note that such a wired coupling may be temporary.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the seventh example mode 560 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the fixed hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wireless links. Note that the communication link shown inthe seventh example mode 560 of FIG. 5C between the local infrastructureprovider network and the fixed hotspot access network may be wiredand/or wireless.

The fixed hotspot access network is also shown in the seventh examplemode 560 to be communicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/orenvironment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein. Additionally, the end-userdevices are also shown in the seventh example mode 560 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein.

In the seventh example mode 560 (e.g., the no backbone and mobilehotspots available mode), information (or data) may be communicatedbetween an end-user device and a server via the fixed hotspot accessnetwork and/or the local infrastructure provider network. As will beseen in the various example modes presented herein, such communicationmay flexibly occur between an end-user device and a server via any of avariety of different communication pathways, for example depending onthe availability of a network, depending on bandwidth utilization goals,depending on communication priority, depending on communication time (orlatency) and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. Forexample, information communicated between an end user device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider network(e.g., skipping the fixed hotspot access network).

Similarly, in the seventh example mode 560 (e.g., the no backbone andmobile hotspots available mode), information (or data) may becommunicated between an environment device and a server via the fixedhotspot access network and/or the local infrastructure provider network.Also for example, an environment device may communicate with or throughan end-user device (e.g., instead of or in addition to the mobilehotspot access network). As will be seen in the various example modespresented herein, such communication may flexibly occur between anenvironment device and a server (e.g., communicatively coupled to thelocal infrastructure provider network) via any of a variety of differentcommunication pathways, for example depending on the availability of anetwork, depending on bandwidth utilization goals, depending oncommunication priority, depending on communication time (or latency)and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. For example,information communicated between an environment device and a server maybe communicated via the local infrastructure provider network (e.g.,skipping the fixed hotspot access network).

The seventh example mode 560 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample controlled space implementation, Cloud access might not beprovided (e.g., for security reasons, privacy reasons, etc.), and full(or sufficient) coverage of the coverage area is provided by the fixedhotspot access network, and thus the mobile hotspot access network isnot needed. For example, the end-user devices and environment devicesmay communicate directly (e.g., via Ethernet, Wi-Fi, etc.) with theFixed APs

Note also that the seventh example mode 560 may be utilized in ascenario in which the backbone provider network and/or fixed hotspotaccess network are normally available but are currently unavailable(e.g., due to equipment failure, due to communication link failure, dueto power outage, due to a temporary denial of service, etc.).

The eighth example mode (or configuration) 570 (e.g., the no backbone,fixed hotspots, and local infrastructure available mode) may, forexample, share any or all characteristics with the first example mode500, albeit without the backbone provider network, local infrastructureprovider network, fixed hotspot access network, and communication linkstherewith. For example, the communication system in the eighth examplemode 570 comprises a mobile hotspot access network, end-user devices,and environment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5C, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the mobile hotspotaccess network is shown in the eighth example mode 570 to becommunicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/or environmentdevices via one or more wireless links. Many examples of such wirelesscoupling are provided herein. Further, the end-user devices are alsoshown in the eighth example mode 570 to be communicatively coupled tothe environment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein.

In the eighth example mode 570 (e.g., the no backbone, fixed hotspots,and local infrastructure available mode), information (or data) mightnot (at least currently) be communicated between an end-user device anda server (e.g., a coupled to the backbone provider network, localinfrastructure provider network, etc.). Similarly, information (or data)might not (at least currently) be communicated between an environmentdevice and a server (e.g., a coupled to the backbone provider network,local infrastructure provider network, etc.). Note that the environmentdevice may communicate with or through an end-user device (e.g., insteadof or in addition to the mobile hotspot access network).

The eighth example mode 570 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation, the eighth example mode 570 may be utilized forgathering and/or serving data (e.g., in a delay-tolerant networkingscenario), providing peer-to-peer communication through the mobilehotspot access network (e.g., between clients of a single Mobile AP,between clients of respective different Mobile APs, etc.), etc. Inanother example scenario, the eighth example mode 570 may be utilized ina scenario in which vehicle-to-vehicle communications are prioritizedabove vehicle-to-infrastructure communications. In yet another examplescenario, the eighth example mode 570 may be utilized in a scenario inwhich all infrastructure access is lost (e.g., in tunnels, parkinggarages, etc.).

Note also that the eighth example mode 570 may be utilized in a scenarioin which the backbone provider network, local infrastructure providernetwork, and/or fixed hotspot access network are normally available butare currently unavailable (e.g., due to equipment failure, due tocommunication link failure, due to power outage, due to a temporarydenial of service, etc.).

As shown and discussed herein, it is beneficial to have a genericplatform that allows multi-mode communications of multiple users ormachines within different environments, using multiple devices withmultiple technologies, connected to multiple moving/static things withmultiple technologies, forming wireless (mesh) hotspot networks overdifferent environments, connected to multiple wired/wirelessinfrastructure/network backbone providers, ultimately connected to theInternet, Cloud or private network infrastructure.

FIG. 6 shows yet another block diagram of an example networkconfiguration, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure. The example network 600 may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the other example methods, method steps, systems,networks, and/or network components 100, 200, 300, 400, 500-570, 700,800, 900, 1000, and 1100, discussed herein. Notably, the example network600 shows a plurality of Mobile APs (or OBUs), each communicativelycoupled to a Fixed AP (or RSU), where each Mobile AP may provide networkaccess to a vehicle network (e.g., comprising other vehicles or vehiclenetworks, user devices, sensor devices, etc.).

FIG. 7 shows still another block diagram of an example communicationnetwork 700, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure. The example network 700 may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the other example methods, method steps, networksand/or network components 100, 200, 300, 400, 500-570, 600, 800, 900,1000, and 1100, discussed herein. Notably, the example network 700 showsa plurality of vehicles (or Mobile APs, or MAPs, or OBUs) 752, 754, 756,and 758, each communicatively coupled to a Fixed AP (or RSU) 742, 744,and 748 and/or a cellular network 706, where each Mobile AP may providenetwork access to a vehicle network (e.g., comprising other vehicles orvehicle networks, user devices, sensor devices, etc.), for example aWi-Fi network to which end user devices (or other client devices) mayconnect, with which communication with sensors (or other client devices)may be performed, etc. The example network 700 may also, for example,comprise a plurality of Network Controllers 732, 734, and 738. Theexample network 700 may also, for example, comprise any of a variety ofinterconnected networks (e.g., Private Networks 702, the Internet 704,Telecommunication Networks 706, etc.). One or more servers of the Cloudmay, for example, be accessible via Cloud APIs 760.

The Mobile APs 752, 754, 756, and 758 may, for example, becommunicatively coupled to various client devices (e.g., end userdevices, sensor devices, etc.), for example as the Mobile APs are withinrange of such client devices. For example, in the example scenario shownin FIG. 7, a first MAP 752 is communicatively coupled to a first clientdevice 771 (e.g., Client 1) and a set of client devices 772 (e.g.,Client 2, Client 3, Client 4, and Client 5), which may for example beco-located; a second MAP 754 is communicatively coupled to a sixthclient device 773 (e.g., Client 6); and an M^(th) MAP 758 iscommunicatively coupled to a seventh client device 774 (e.g., Client 7).The Mobile APs may, for example move in and out of communication rangeof the various client devices, various client devices may travel withthe Mobile APs (e.g., for at least a transportation time period), etc.The Mobile APs may, for example when in-range of such client devices,communicate with such devices (e.g., provide 2-way communication linksto end user devices, gather information from sensor devices, etc.) in apower-efficient and network-efficient manner, many examples of which areprovided herein.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, systemsand methods are provided that manage a vehicle communication network,for example in accordance with the location of nodes and end devices, ina way that provides for stable TCP/IP Internet access, among otherthings. For example, an end user may be provided with a clean and stableWi-Fi Internet connection that may appear to the end user to be the sameas the Wi-Fi Internet connection at the user's home, user's workplace,fixed public Wi-Fi hotspots, etc. For example, for a user utilizing acommunication network as described herein, a TCP session may stayactive, downloads may process normally, calls may proceed withoutinterruption, etc. As discussed herein, a vehicle communication networkin accordance with various aspects of this disclosure may be applied asa transport layer for regular Internet traffic and/or for privatenetwork traffic (e.g., extending the access of customer private LANsfrom the wired network to vehicles and users around them, etc.).

In accordance with an example network implementation, although a usermight be always connected to a single Wi-Fi AP of a vehicle, the vehicle(or the access point thereof, for example an OBU) is moving betweenmultiple access points (e.g., Fixed APs, other Mobile APs, cellular basestations, fixed Wi-Fi hotspots, etc.). For example, mobility managementimplemented in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosuresupports the mobility of each vehicle and its users across differentcommunication technologies (e.g., 802.11p, cellular, Wi-Fi, etc.) as theMobile APs migrate among Fixed APs (and/or Mobile APs) and/or as usersmigrate between Mobile APs.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, a mobilitycontroller (MC), which may also be referred to as an LMA or NetworkController (NC), may monitor the location (e.g., network location, etc.)of various nodes (e.g., Mobile APs, etc.) and/or the location of endusers connected through them. The mobility controller (MC) may, forexample, provide seamless handovers (e.g., maintaining communicationsession continuity) between different access points and/or differenttechnologies with low link latency and low handover times.

The architecture provided herein is scalable, for example takingadvantage of redundant elements and/or functionality to provideload-balancing of control and/or data communication functionality, aswell as to decrease failure probability. Various aspects of the presentdisclosure also provide for decreased control signaling (e.g., in amountand/or frequency), which reduces the control overhead and reduces thesize of control tables and tunneling, for example both in backendservers and in APs (e.g., Fixed APs and/or Mobile APs).

Additionally, a communication network (or components thereof) inaccordance with various aspects of this disclosure may comprise theability to interact with mobile devices in order to control some or allof their connection choices and/or to leverage their controlfunctionality. For example, in an example implementation, a mobileapplication can run in the background, managing the available networksand/or nodes thereof and selecting the one that best fits, and thentriggering a handoff to the selected network (or node thereof) beforebreakdown of the current connection.

The communication network (or components thereof) is also configurable,according to the infrastructure requirements and/or mobility needs ofeach client, etc. For example, the communication network (or componentsthereof) may comprise the capability to support different Layer 2 (L2)or Layer 3 (L3) implementations, or combinations thereof, as well asIPv4/IPv6 traffic.

There are a substantial number of connections that are establishedwithin the network of moving things (NMT, IMT, etc.). Some of suchconnections generally need to be established (e.g., critical connectionsrelated with safety applications, real-time monitoring of criticalsituations or operation, autonomous vehicle control, etc.). Others ofsuch connections may for example be delay tolerant (e.g., at least acertain amount of communication latency is acceptable), and/or may forexample be implemented opportunistically (e.g., waiting for a low-costor non-impactful communication pathway to become available, etc.). Stillothers of such connections may for example be implemented in apredictable or deterministic manner, while others may be implemented inan asynchronous manner. Various connections may also, for example, needto be performed (or are preferably performed) at a specific location,need to be performed (or are preferably performed) with a specific AP(e.g., Fixed AP, etc.), etc.

In an example scenario in which all of the devices and nodes start tosend data without any knowledge about the environment, the Internet ofMoving Things (IoMT) (or Network of Moving Things (NMT)) infrastructuremay become saturated, overloaded, poorly-performing, etc. For example,in general, the nodes and/or devices that are generating data orrequesting connectivity might not be aware of the featurescharacterizing the infrastructure supporting the Network of MovingThings. Such lack of infrastructure awareness may for example result inpoor connectivity decisions (e.g., from the perspective of the device ornode, from the perspective of the infrastructure as a whole, from theperspective of other nodes, etc.). Accordingly, various aspects of thepresent disclosure provide for the devices (or nodes) to have (e.g.,directly and/or directly) more knowledge and context, where suchknowledge may then be utilized by the devices (or nodes) to make a moreinformed connectivity decision. There are many benefits of such informeddecision-making, including for example eliminating or reducingunnecessary resource burden in the network, optimizing datacommunication costs, optimizing overall communication networkefficiency, etc.

In an example implementation, as discussed herein, reward and/or penaltymodels may be deployed to (at least in part) govern overall operation orutilization of the communication network. Benefits may, for example,include reducing interference and congestion, improving communicationquality, enhancing the user experience, and increasing the overallservice performance.

An example implementation may, for example, comprise a distributed andcooperative system that includes any one or more of a variety of models,methods, and algorithms, many non-limiting examples of which areprovided herein. For example, an example implementation may comprise aModel (e.g., data type, class, structure, etc.) to characterize thecommunication opportunities and/or resources (e.g., time slot, codeslots, channels, etc.) available, which a node (which may also bereferred to herein as an “offering node”) may offer for communication.Such communication may, for example, be upstream and/or downstream,lateral, directly peer-to-peer, etc., and may involve the receiver (orsink) side, the transmitter (or source) side, etc.

An example implementation may also, for example, comprise a Model (e.g.,data type, class, structure, etc.) to characterize the communicationsneeds of a node (which may also be referred to herein as a “subscribingnode”) that wants to (or is willing to) use offered communicationopportunities or resources of the network of moving things (e.g., assender node, as a recipient node, etc.). The Model may, for example,provide for characterizing credits (or other measure of cost) that thenodes have to perform communications in a network. Such credits may, forexample, be day-based, month-based, road or route-based, location-based,vehicle-based, fleet-based, user-based, situation-based, etc.

An example implementation may additionally, for example, comprise aMethod that provides for a node to communicate (e.g., broadcast,multicast, unicast, etc.) or publish the communication resources (e.g.,communication slot(s), channel, memory, etc.) that the node hasavailable. An example implementation may further, for example, comprisea Method that provides for a node to subscribe to (or request) thecommunication resources (e.g., how many of the available slots, etc.)needed (or wanted) from the node(s) having the desired communicationresources available.

An example implementation may also, for example, comprise an Algorithm(e.g., method flows, priorities, rules, cost functions, etc.) that maybe implemented by one or more nodes to determine how a sender node willoperate, how a receiver node will operate, which node of a plurality ofnodes within range will serve another node, etc. For example, such analgorithm may specify how a best in-range Mobile AP (or vehicle) orFixed AP is selected to provide a particular type of access or service(e.g., for communication of a particular type of data for a particularapplication), for example in a scenario in which more than one Mobile AP(or vehicle) may have requested data (or other desired resources).

An example implementation may additionally, for example, comprise anAlgorithm (e.g., method flows, priorities, rules, cost functions, etc.)that may be implemented by one or more nodes to determine how to rewardor penalize (or charge) each node for communicating immediately,communicating later in a delay-tolerant manner, allowing another node toutilize resources before the node utilizes such resources, sharingcommunication capabilities (or resources) with other nodes, etc.

An example implementation may further, for example, comprise a Methodthat provides for measuring and/or accounting the actual resourceutilization (e.g., amount of data transferred, numbers of slotsutilized, number and/or identify of nodes involved in the communication(e.g., in a multi-hop scenario, etc.), etc. The Method may, for exampleprovide feedback, for example of resource utilization, to the overallsystem (e.g., to each node, to a central controller, to a Cloud server,etc.). Such information may, for example, comprise information of actualresource utilization (and/or resource subscription level), which may,for example, be utilized by any or all nodes of the network to adaptoperation. For example, congested communication pathways may bere-allocated, underutilized resources may be re-assigned or designatedas available for utilization by other nodes, etc. In an examplescenario, the system may utilize such information to determine thatresources are available for an additional node to utilize the network,where such node was previously not able to utilize the network. Forexample, resources may initially blocked from utilization based on asubscription to such resources, but upon realization that such resourcesare not being utilized or are being underutilized, such resources maybecome available or at least partially available.

Various aspects of the methods and systems described herein comprisesystems and methods (e.g., models, methods, algorithms, etc.) thatregulate and control the offering and requesting of resourcesdistributed throughout the network. For example, a pricing system isprovided when there are multiple nodes, for example one or more nodesoffering to provide communication resources (e.g., general connectivityresources, Internet connectivity resources, memory and/or processingresources, etc.) and another one or more nodes requiring some type ofcommunication connectivity (e.g., general network connectivity, Internetconnectivity, real-time communication connectivity, delay tolerant datadelivery connectivity, etc.), memory resource utilization, processingresource utilization, etc.

Various example systems and methods are presented herein in a modularfashion (e.g., including various models, methods, algorithms etc.). Forexample, the discussion herein describes example models for the managingthe resources available and the resource requirements, example methodsto exchange messages with information about resource offers and requests(e.g., resource subscriptions, etc.), example algorithms that may beimplemented to form (e.g., select, adapt, etc.) a pricing model and/ordetermine a resource allocation to pursue (e.g., to be pursued by theresource subscriber, to be pursued (or encouraged) by the resourceprovider, etc.). For example, providing a dynamic and individual pricingmodel for one or more resources may, for example, achieve load balancingwith regard to resource utilization. For example, a first node may need(or prefer) a real-time connection for the immediate communication ofparticular information, while a second node may accept delay tolerantcommunication of particular information (e.g., within a maximum timelimit, etc.) and thus the utilization of the resources may be performedover an acceptable period of time (e.g., a default and/or specifiedtime) without imposing strict demands on the network. Note that thefirst node may also, for example, concurrently (e.g., during a sameshort time-frame) or simultaneously (e.g., at the same time) beperforming real-time and delay-tolerant communications (e.g., through asame communication network pathway, through different respectivecommunication network pathways, etc.).

Various aspects of this disclosure will now be presented with regard toFIGS. 8-10, which will generally be discussed together. FIG. 8 shows ablock diagram of an example communication network 800, in accordancewith various aspects of the present invention. FIG. 9 shows a flowdiagram of an example method 900 of managing communication networkinfrastructure access, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 10 shows a diagram of an example pricing function 1000,in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Theexample systems and methods of FIGS. 8-10 may, for example, share any orall characteristics with each other. Also, the example systems andmethods of FIGS. 8-10 may share any or all characteristics with theother example methods, method steps, systems, networks, and/or networkcomponents 100, 200, 300, 400, 500-570, 600, 700, and 1100, discussedherein.

In the example system 800, the Context Block 812 (or module) of theOffering Node 810 (e.g., the node offering the resources) evaluatescontext information (e.g., information about interfaces, connections,history, network and/or node past and present behavior, etc.), andprovides an input to the Resource Management Block 814 (or module). TheResource Management Block 814 may then, for example, determine andannounce the resources available and respective price for each of theavailable resources.

As shown illustratively in FIG. 8, the Resource Management Block 814 (ormodule) of the Offering Node 810 includes aspects (or blocks or modules)1, 2, 3, and 6 (as discussed herein), which are associated withcharacterizing the resources available, the price/reward model andalgorithm, the methods to announce resources and/or prices, etc. TheData Requirements Block 822 (or module) of the Subscribing Node 820(e.g., the node wanting to utilize and ultimately utilizing theresources) may, for example, evaluate communication requirements (e.g.,its data communication requirements) for example regarding real-timecommunications and delay tolerant communications, and provideinformation to the Resource Management Block 824 (or module) of theSubscribing Node 820. The Resource Management Block 824 (or module), forexample based at least in part on the resource offer informationreceived (e.g., received from an Announcing Message 832 of the OfferingNode 810, etc.) and on information of the data communicationrequirements received (e.g., from the Data Requirements Block 822 of theSubscribing Node 820, etc.), determines the resources to request (orsubscribe), which are shown graphically in FIG. 8 as aspects (or blocksor modules) 4 and 5. Both the Offering Node 810 and the Subscribing Node820 may, for example, have a System aspect (or block or module), whichis shown graphically in FIG. 8 as aspect 7 (e.g., 7a and 7b), to performthe resource utilization (or traffic) accounting, which along with therespective price, is sent periodically to the Server 830, which may thenaggregate the accounting (or billing) over time.

Note that although the discussion of FIG. 8 is presented with regard toa first node (e.g., the Offering Node 810) offering resources and withregard to a second node (e.g., the Subscribing Node 820) subscribing tooffered resources), it should be noted that at any point in time, asingle node (e.g., a Mobile AP, a Fixed AP, a Mobile AP of an autonomousvehicle, a client or user device, a Network Controller, etc.) mayoperate as both an offering node and a subscribing node. For example, aMobile AP may operate as an offering node for another Mobile AP or for aclient device, while concurrently or simultaneously operating as asubscribing node that subscribes to resources offered by a Fixed AP oranother Mobile AP. For example, in an example scenario, the OfferingNode 810 may subscribe to upstream resources for the purpose of offering(or providing) communication resources to the Subscribing Node 820. Forexample, in an example scenario, the Subscribing Node 820 may request acommunication channel (or bandwidth) that cannot be offered to theSubscribing Node 820 until the Offering Node 810 acquires a channel (orbandwidth) from a FAP to which the Offering Node 810 is communicativelycoupled.

The communication between the nodes (e.g., between the Offering Node 810and the Subscribing Node 820) may, for example, be performed utilizingwith a three-step handshake process, but the scope of this disclosure isnot limited thereto. For example, as explained herein, suchcommunication may be performed utilizing a two-step process, or aprocess including any other number of steps. In an exampleimplementation, the Offering Node 810 may periodically send AnnouncingMessages 832 containing information describing the characteristics ofthe available resources and the price per resource (e.g., price pertimeslot, price per channel, price per code, price per timeslot forimmediate communication, price per timeslot for a timeslot with at mosta first latency or delay, price per timeslot for a timeslot with at mosta second latency or delay, price per memory block of a particular size,price for a particular number of processing cycles or for a particularprocessing job, etc.).

The Subscribing Node 820 may then receive the Announcing Message 832 andanalyze the information to identify (or determine) the resources that itwants to utilize for its communication(s), and communicate a Subscribe(or request) Message 834 to the Offering Node 810.

To complete the agreement (or subscription) agreement, the Offering Node810 may then send a Granted Message 836 (or OK message) (e.g.,indicating that the subscription has been granted, identifying theresources assigned, etc.), at which point, the Subscribing Node 820 mayutilize the granted (or subscribed to) resources. The Offering Node 810may then, for example, designated the granted resources as beingunavailable to other nodes (e.g., always, unless a particular set ofevents occur, etc.).

The following discussion will provide more specific examplecharacteristics of the models, methods, and algorithms introduced above.

Regarding the first example aspect, shown graphically as block 1 in FIG.8 and as block 901 in FIG. 9, the communication opportunities (e.g.,available resources including slots, codes, memory, channels, processingcapability, etc.) may be modeled (or determined).

A communication network (e.g., the Internet of Things (IoT), Network ofMoving Things (NMT), vehicle transportation networks, the Internet,etc.) will comprise nodes. Such nodes may have one or more interfacesand paths to communicate with or through the communication network(e.g., to the Internet, IoT, etc.). The diversity and heterogeneity ofpaths may provide different requirements/characteristics that may (orshould) be taken into account when identifying the resources of eachoffering node that are available to other nodes. In an exampleimplementation, an offering node may announce all of the optionsavailable for neighboring nodes to utilize the node's connections (orcommunication resources or other resources), as well the characteristicsof each connection (or other resources), for example regardingperformance, availability, predictability, reliability, latency, errorrate, guaranteed or predicted existence duration, etc. The node may, forexample, assess the characteristics separately for each availableconnection. In such manner, the offering node can determine what theoffering node is able to offer to subscribing nodes, and the subscribingnodes that want to utilize the offering node's offered connection(s) (orcommunication resources or other resources) can determine (or assess)whether any of the available connections fit the requirements of thedata to be transported. The performance of each connection (or otherresource) may, for example, be periodically measured (or analyzed orassessed) to have an accurate and current indicator of performance, inparticular in substantially mobile environments where connectionconditions or even the connections themselves can change dramaticallyover time.

Aspect 1 (or block 901) may perform such modeling (or determination ofcommunication opportunities or available communication resources (orother resources)) in any of a variety of manners. For example, theOffering Node 810 may maintain a table of resources that have alreadybeen allocated and that are presently available. Aspect 1 (or block 901)may also, for example, probe the effectiveness of various communicationpathways to gain an understanding of the actual communication bandwidthavailable and/or the latency associated with the user of thecommunication pathway. Such probing may, for example, be performedperiodically, upon a detected significant change in node context, upon areceived subscription request for a communication resource, etc. Aspect1 (or block 901) may identify available assets in any of a variety ofmanners. For example Aspect 1 may identify available assets of a FixedAP or Mobile AP based, at least in part, on mobility context (e.g.,based on node location, node trajectory, predetermined vehicle route,vehicle trajectory information from an autonomous vehicle controlsystem, anticipated time in-range, known communication dead zones,etc.).

For example, in an example scenario in which node location, trajectory,predetermined vehicle route, anticipated time in-range, etc., indicatesthat a communication resource presently available to allocate (e.g., acommunication channel, etc.) is about to become unavailable, Aspect 1may refrain from identifying such communication resource as beingpresently available and/or may identify that such communication resourcewill only be available for a particular amount of time. In anotherexample scenario in which the node is currently in or anticipated toimminently be in a known communication dead zone, the node may similarlyrefrain from identifying a particular communication resource as beingpresently available and/or may identify that such communication resourcewill only be available for a particular amount of time. Conversely,anticipated availability of communication resources (e.g., based on nodelocation) may be utilized to advertise the anticipated availability ofcommunication resources. For example, in a scenario in which it is known(e.g., based on vehicle position, trajectory, planned travel route,historical patterns, etc.) that the node is about to enter an area inwhich particular communication resources are reliably available forutilization by other nodes, Aspect 1 may advertise such resources to beavailable and/or advertise such resources to be available at aparticular time or during a particular time window.

Regarding the second example aspect, shown graphically as block 2 inFIG. 8 and as block 902 in FIG. 9, the pricing (or cost) of theavailable communication opportunities (e.g., available resourcesincluding slots, codes, memory, channels, etc.) may be modeled.

For example, the pricing model may depend on any of a variety offactors, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. Forexample, the pricing model may depend on the opportunities ofcommunication of the Offering Node 810, their characteristics andbehavior, the requirements of the Subscribing Node 820, the data thatthe Subscribing Node 820 wants to deliver to the destination, etc. Thedata communication (or transport) requirements may, for example, includevarious characteristics, for example throughput/bandwidth availableand/or required, the connection time available and/or required, the timein which data can be delivered, the time required to deliver the data(e.g., whether the Subscribing Node 820 can wait several hours for thedata communication, whether the Subscribing Node 820 can want severalminutes for the data communication, whether the Subscribing Node 820needs immediate communication, whether and/or how much data loss isacceptable, etc.).

An example pricing model may, for example, comprise a set of multi-inputfunctions, for example according to the number of connections, that takeinto account the price/cost per data block (e.g., a 1 KB slot, etc.) perslot (e.g., a 1 second slot, etc.) and the time by which the data blockneeds to arrive at its destination (e.g., needs to arrive within 5hours, needs to arrive within 5 minutes, needs to arrive immediately oras soon as possible, needs to arrive by the end of the day, etc.). As anexample, the resources for a subscribing node that requires a dedicatedconnection at 1 Mbps for the next 5 minutes may have a different costthan the resources for another subscribing node requiring 10 MB to becommunicated to the destination by the end of the day. Note, however,that depending on overall resource availability, such desiredconnections may also be provided at a same or similar cost (e.g., duringperiods of low network utilization, etc.).

The pricing model may, for example, be dynamic and adaptable. Forexample, the pricing model may be updated by the node offering theconnections (or communication resources) periodically, rather thanreactively establishing a pricing each time the Offering Node 810 andthe Subscribing Node 820 need to share resources.

For example, the pricing model may be based, at least in part, on supplyand demand, where the supplier (e.g., the Offering Node 810 in thiscase) provides the cost of each of the connections, based on any one ormore of a variety of factors (e.g., throughput or data rate, time(absolute or relative time), urgency (or acceptable latency),anticipated connection duration, probability of connection failure, etc.The consumer (e.g., the Subscribing Node 820 in this case) may thenselect, the offer that best fits the consumer's interests, knowing howmuch credit/money the consumer will spend for each offered option. Thesupplier may, for example, dynamically continually (or periodically)update the pricing model for new services during the day based on thechanging connection (or network) conditions, based on predicted (e.g.,based on history) changes to connection (or network) conditions, basedon any of the node or vehicle context aspects discussed herein (e.g.,based on location, trajectory, travel route, etc., of the supplier),etc. In an example implementation, the connections (or resources orslots) that have already been allocated (or subscribed to) may remain atthe price at which the allocation was established. In another exampleimplementation, the price may be adjusted (e.g., lowered) to continue tooptimize network operation even after resources have been allocated.

In an example scenario, at a first time the Subscribing Node 820 may beable to transport 5 MB of data in 2 hours at a price of 10 credits, andat a second later time transport 5 MB in 2 hours at a price of 20credits. Note that the Subscribing Node 820 may, for example uponpredicting utilization and recognizing a relatively good price at thefirst time, order the transport of 10 MB in 2 hours for a price of 20credits. The model (or the accounting aspect discussed herein) may thenaccount for non-utilized, but subscribed, resources in any of a varietyof manners.

Various aspects of this disclosure logically separate the pricingfunction with the accounting function. This segregation has been adoptedfor illustrative clarity and because at least some separation may bebeneficial. It should be noted, however, that the scope of thisdisclosure should not be limited by such logical separation. Forexample, since various networks discussed herein may comprisesubstantial mobile components, the nodes providing and/or utilizing thecommunication resources may move out of range of each other, besubjected to moving or unexpected obstructions, etc. In such a dynamiccommunication environment, an example implementation may account (e.g.,bill, etc.) only for resources that have been actually used. Thenon-utilized resources may, for example, be un-billed, billed at a lowerrate, billed only to the extent that they were not re-allocated toanother node, etc. There may also be a minimum contract cost, forexample to discourage opportunistic over-subscription on the part ofsubscribing nodes that are unlikely to utilize all of the subscribedresources. Also for example, non-utilized resources may be billed untilre-allocated and/or re-offered.

The pricing model may also, for example, consider stability,reliability, and predictability of the connection when associating aprice with the connection and/or include such stability, reliability,and/or predictability information (along with the price or cost) in theoffer information. For example, the Offering Node 810 (e.g., theResource Management Block 814 thereof) may offer a discounted price fora currently (or historically) less reliable connection, or converselymay associate a premium price with a currently (or historically) highlyreliable connection. The Subscribing Node 820 (e.g., a ResourceManagement Block 824 thereof) may then consider its own reliabilityneeds with selecting a connection, for example selecting a lowest costconnection that is predicted to meet its reliability needs.

In an example scenario, the Offering Node 810 may offer a relative lowprice for an offered connection, because the connection has a relativelyhigher risk of connection loss (e.g., based on node location (e.g., ofthe offering node, subscribing node, and/or other node, etc.), based onnode movement or velocity (e.g., of the offering node, subscribing node,and/or other node, etc.), based on predicted node trajectory (e.g., ofthe offering node, subscribing node, and/or other node, etc.), based onpredetermined vehicle route (e.g., of the offering node, subscribingnode, and/or other node, etc.), based on autonomous vehicle controlinformation (e.g., routing information, location information, trajectoryinformation, etc.), based on historical dead zone location, etc.). Forexample, the Offering Node 810 (e.g., a Mobile AP) may offer arelatively low cost for a multi-hop connection to a Fixed AP when theMobile AP predicts that its trajectory may result in a lossy or likelydropped connection. Also for example, when a planned trajectory for anOffering Node 810 (e.g., a Mobile AP) stays within a geographical areaassociated with a high-reliability connection directly to a particularFixed AP, the Offering Node 810 may offer a relatively high cost for theutilization of such a high-reliability connection (e.g., for real-timecommunication).

In an example implementation, the Offering Node 810 (e.g., a ResourceManagement Block 814 thereof) may also consider its memory capacity, forexample for the delivery of delay tolerant data. For example, if theOffering Node 810 determines that its local memory resources, whichmight generally be utilized to store delay tolerant data for laterdelivery, are running low, the Offering Node 810 may increase itsoffered costs for delay tolerant communication. Thus, there mayaccordingly be scenarios in which a delay tolerant communication ispriced as much as a real-time communication, for example since theOffering Node 810 might have to actually communicate the delay tolerantdate (or other data stored in the Offering Node's 810 memory)immediately (or relatively quickly) to avoid a memory overflow.

Regarding the third example aspect, shown graphically as block 3 in FIG.8 and as block 903 in FIG. 9, the Offering Node 810 announces (orcommunicates, publishes, advertises, transmits, etc.) the offeredresources. The announcing is shown graphically in FIG. 8 at AnnouncingMessage 832 (e.g., offering a particular link speed, duration, latency,quality, and/or total amount of data at a particular price that variesaccording to latency requirements and/or other quality metrics, asdiscussed herein). The Announcing Message 832 may also, for example,include context information regarding the Offering Node. The OfferingNode 810 may, for example, perform such announcing in any of a varietyof manners, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein.

For example, the Offering Node 810 may utilize a localbroadcast/multicast approach, in which the offered resources are onlyoffered to neighbor nodes, only offered to neighbor nodes capable ofutilizing the resources, etc. In such manner, the scope of the resourceoffer announcements may be limited to avoid flooding the network withunnecessary information. The Offering Node 810 may, for example,communicate the Announcing Messages 832 periodically (e.g.,asynchronously), in response to a request received from the SubscribingNode 820 (e.g., synchronously), whenever a resource becomes available orunavailable, any combination thereof, etc. For example, though aSubscribing Node 820 may typically wait until resource offers 832 areperiodically transmitted by the Offering Node 810, in an emergencysituation, the Subscribing Node 820 may request a resource offer (e.g.,making a direct request to the Offering Node 810, broadcasting a requestto all nodes within communication range, multi-casting a request to allnodes in a multi-cast group, etc.) and/or may immediately requestdesired resources (e.g., including a requested cost, a maximum cost,etc.).

The Announcing Message 832 may, for example, include information of theavailable resources regarding available connections, current and/oranticipated connection behavior or quality, information describing arespective pricing model associated with each connection (or a pluralitythereof), etc.

The context information about the Offering Node 810 and/or theenvironment (including other nodes, etc.), for example as discussedherein with regard to the Context Block 812, may help to optimize theannouncing (or publishing, etc.) of the resources being offered. Forexample, if the Offering Node 810 has resources to offer, but almost allof such resources include (or are associated with) overloaded/congestedsections of the entire communication path, the Offering Node 810 mayincrease the time between the Announcing Messages 832 or even stoptransmitting the Announcing Messages 832 for a time. Also for example,if the Offering Node 810 has resources to offer, but the Offering Node810 is receiving several announcing messages (or advertisements, etc.)from neighbor nodes with more available resources and/or lower prices,the Offering Node 810 can stop transmitting the Announcing Messages 832for a time (e.g., continuing to monitor the announcing messages from theother nodes until it is determined that the Offering Node 810 isoffering resources at costs similar to those of the other nodes).Similarly, the Offering Node 810 may narrow the set of destination nodesto which Announcing Messages 832 are sent (e.g., only sending theAnnouncing Messages 832 to high-priority nodes, only sending theAnnouncing Messages 832 to nodes of a same fleet as the Offering Node810, only sending the Announcing Messages 832 to public safety vehicles,etc.). Additionally for example, if the Offering Node 810 is a Mobile APon a vehicle operating at a relatively low vehicle speed, the OfferingNode 810 may determine to associate its offered connections with arelatively stable rating and/or a relatively long predicted durationcompared to when the vehicle is operating at a relatively higher speed.Note that the Announcing Messages 832 may include any or all of thecontext information discussed herein concerning the Offering Node 810and/or of other nodes that may be along a communication pathway.

The Offering Node 810 may also, for example, utilize historicalknowledge to determine pricing and/or resource offer announcingstrategy. For example, history from one or more previous days, togetherwith location and time information, may be utilized to predict crowdedzones, congested communication paths, resources available, resourcesrequired, etc. For example, connections historically associated withunreliability at particular locations and/or times may be priced lower,or Announcing Messages 832 concerning such resources may be skipped ordeferred if the historical reliability is below a threshold. Thus, suchhistorical knowledge may be used not only for pricing, but may also beused for determining the manner in which Announcing messages 832 may becommunicated.

Regarding the fourth and fifth example aspects, shown graphically asblocks (or modules) 4 and 5 in FIG. 8 and as blocks 904 and 905 in FIG.9, the Subscribing Node 820 (or Resource Management Block 824 thereof)receives the Announcing Message 832, identifies the resources to requestfor utilization, and communicates a Subscription Request Message 834 (orRequest Message 834) back to the Offering Node 810 to subscribe to theidentified resources.

The Subscribing Node 820 node may, for example, periodically receiveAnnouncing Messages 832 from neighboring nodes (e.g., the Offering Node810, etc.), advertising (or announcing) the resources (e.g.,connections, etc.) being offered by the neighboring nodes and the pricethat the Subscribing Node 820 will have to pay to use the resources.Note that as discussed herein, the Announcing Messages 832 may includeany of a variety of other types of information. The Subscribing Node 810may analyze any or all of such information when determining whether tosubscribe to a particular resource. For example, the Resource ManagementBlock 824 may analyze a price (or cost) to determine whether it is lowenough to meet the cost objectives of the Subscribing Node 820 (e.g., bycomparing the cost to a threshold); may analyze a channel bandwidth todetermine whether it meets the communication objectives of theSubscribing Node 820; may analyze link latency and/or qualityinformation to determine whether they meet the communication objectivesof the Subscribing Node; may analyze vehicle context informationassociated with the Offering Node 810 (e.g., if the Offering Node 810 isa Mobile AP) to determine whether the Offering Node 810 is able to meetcommunication constraints of the Subscribing Node 820 with regard totime-in-range, etc.

Thus, when the Subscribing Node 820 decides that it will pay the priceto utilize the offered resource, the Subscribing Node 820 sends aSubscription Request Message 834 (or Request Message 834) to theOffering Node 810. In an example scenario, the Request Message 834 mayinclude information identifying the slots or channels that theSubscribing Node 820 wants to use. The Request Message 834 may also, forexample, include information regarding time and bandwidth for real-timedata communication, the amount data to transport and the maximum timeallowed to deliver the date in the case of delay-tolerant datacommunication, etc. The Request Message 834 may also, for example,include context information about the Subscribing Node 820 (e.g., forconsideration by the Offering Node 810 in making modifications to theresource offering).

In an example implementation, the Subscribing Node 820 may need to waitfor a Granted Message 836 (or Resource Assignment Message or OK Messageor other reply message) from the Offering Node 810 to confirm that theOffering Node 810 is committed to providing the resources requested bythe Subscribing Node 820. Then the Subscribing Node 820 may beginutilizing the granted resources. Note that such a Granted Message 836may comprise information identifying the granted resource, how theSubscribing Node 820 is to utilize and/or access the resources (e.g.,channel identification, secure access information, timing requirementsor durations, etc.). If the Offering Node 810 replies to the RequestMessage 834 with a negative reply, the Subscribing Node 820 may searchfor other opportunities from advertisements being broadcast and repeatthe request and reply process. For example, a negative reply may includeinformation about why the request was denied, information updating alist of available resources and pricing, etc.

In another example implementation, the Subscribing Node 820 may skipwaiting for the Announcing Message 832, and transmit the Request Message834 to request needed resources. Such a Request Message 834 may, forexample, providing information describing the real time and/or delaytolerant data communication needs of the Subscribing Node 820. In thiscase, the Offering Node 810 (or a plurality thereof) may respond with amessage to the Subscribing Node 820 that indicates pricing for therequested resources (or for resources that the Offering Node 810believes will satisfy the communication needs of the Subscribing Node820, wherein such resources may be different from the requestedresources). For example, all potential Offering Nodes 810 that receivethe Request Message 834 from the Subscribing Node 820 may respond withpricing information for resources that meet the communication needs ofthe Subscribing Node 820. The Subscribing Node 820 may then, forexample, send another message to the Offering Node 810 that is providingthe selected resources to indicate that the Subscribing Node 820 desiresto utilize the selected resources.

As discussed herein, the three-step handshake (or message exchange)process is merely exemplary. A two-step handshake (or message exchange)process may also be utilized (e.g., instead of or in addition to thethree-step handshake). For example, the Subscribing Node 820 may providethe maximum price that the Subscribing Node 820 is willing to pay foreach resource and the Offering Node 810 may assume that a resource offersent in reply with a lower price than the maximum price will be acceptedby the Subscribing Node 820. In an example implementation, such types ofrequests might be generally utilized only in special circumstances(e.g., to minimize unnecessary message traffic). For example, suchrequests may be utilized in scenarios in which the Subscribing Node 820needs resources quickly or when the communication requirements are sodemanding that there is a low probability of the neighboring nodes beingable to fulfill the requirements.

The Offering Node 810 (e.g., a Resource Management Block 814 thereof)may, for example, maintain a list indicating the resources that arealready assigned to (or allocated to) other nodes. Such a list may helpthe Offering Node 810 to manage its resources for current and newresource offers. The Subscribing Node 820 (e.g., a Resource ManagementBlock 824 thereof) may also maintain a list of such resourceinformation, for example to assist the Subscribing Node 820 withfulfilling the communication requirements of the applicationscommunicating the real-time and delay-tolerant data. After acquiring theresources, the Subscribing Node 820 can interact with other systemcomponents (e.g., internal modules, etc.) to adjust/configure theresources and, for example, to trigger a process/application to startusing the newly acquired resources.

The Subscribing Node 820 (e.g., a Resource Management Block 824 thereof)may analyze its communication needs (e.g., real time and/or delaytolerant data communication needs) and the resource offer received inthe Announcing Message 832 to select the resource offer that bestmatches its needs and/or which satisfies minimum resource needs at anacceptable or lowest cost, etc. The Subscribing Node 820 may determinethe best match in any of a variety of manners, non-limiting examples ofwhich are provided herein.

For real time communication needs, the decision may, for example, bebased on the set of currently available resources identified by theneighbors (e.g., identified by the Offering Node 810 and others likeit). The selection of resource is thus a real time (or nearly real time)decision, since the need for the resources is imminent. For example,from the most recent Announcing Messages 832 received from neighborOffering Nodes 810, the Subscribing Node 820 may select the lowest-costresources that provide at least the minimum performance required. In ascenario in which an offered resource of a particular Offering Node 810has the lowest price but does not meet the minimum requirements (e.g.,throughput requirements, etc.), in various implementations, theSubscribing Node 820 may request resources from more than one OfferingNode 810 to meet the total communication requirements, for example ifthe sum of the prices of the resources from a plurality of OfferingNodes 810 is lower than utilizing only resources from a single OfferingNode 810. Note that whether the communication can be effectively splitbetween respective resources of different Offering Nodes 810 depends onthe nature of the communication. For example, such splitting may be moreappropriate for general web traffic than for real time voicecommunications.

For delay tolerant communication needs, resource selection may bedifferent from resource selection for real time communication needs,since for example the data transport does not need to be performedimmediately. For example, in various delay tolerant data communicationscenarios, the communication can be performed minutes later, hourslater, days later, etc. In such scenarios, the Subscribing Node 820 canwait for a neighbor Offering Node 810 that offers favorable pricing totransport the data to the destination, and then subscribe to that offer.The Subscribing Node 820 may also, for example, split the data intoportions, and send a portion of the delay-tolerant data to a neighborOffering Node 810 with a favorable offer (e.g., depending on theresources of that neighbor, such as limited storage, etc.), and thenlater send one or more remaining portions of the data through the sameor another neighbor Offering Node 810.

For optimal decision making, the Subscribing Node 820 should be aware ofand consider the importance/priority and urgency of the delay tolerantdata, for example to be able to wait for the best deals withoutcompromising the communication requirements of the data. For example,with a relatively distant communication deadline, the Subscribing Node820 may have time to wait for favorable terms. As the deadline thendraws near, the Subscribing Node 820 may raise its price (or cost)threshold, for example due to the increased urgency associated with theapproaching deadline.

Over time and experience subscribing to delay tolerant resources fromparticular neighbor Offering Nodes 810 (or in particular regions, inparticular timeframes, etc.), the Subscribing Node 820 can estimateexpected prices and improve its resource selection accordingly. Forexample, in a scenario in which a particular Offering Node 810 ishistorically known to offer favorable terms at a particular time of day(or location, etc.), if the communication deadline permits, theSubscribing Node 820 can wait for the particular time of day (orlocation, etc.) to receive the favorable terms. Similarly, if theSubscribing Node 820 observes over time that waiting more than athreshold amount of time typically results in the Subscribing Node 820having to subscribe to relatively expensive resources, the SubscribingNode 820 may be more receptive to accepting moderately priced resourcesas the threshold amount of time approaches. Also note that theSubscribing Node 820 can black list (or add a cost factor for) aparticular Offering Node 810 associated with offered communicationresources that have historically failed to meet expectations.

Regarding the sixth example aspect, shown graphically as block 6 in FIG.8 and as block 906 in FIG. 9, the Offering Node 810 may implement analgorithm to adapt the pricing model in response to any of a variety ofcauses or conditions and/or to meet any of a variety of goals (e.g., toreward or penalize a subscribing node, to alleviate network congestion,to account for a substantial change in the availability of variousresources, etc.).

The Offering Node 810 may, for example, implement the algorithm toperform a systematic strategy to adjust the pricing model. The pricingmodel is generally described here based on money and cost, but the scopeof this disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the pricingmodel may be implemented based on credits, rewards, rebates, coupons,services, status, points, contractual obligations, etc.

As shown herein, the pricing model may consider any of a variety ofparameters. The pricing model may also, for example, consider metricsrelated to status (or condition) of the wireless medium access. Forexample, a high congestion situation may, for example, result in anincreased price per slot, for example managing the congestion bydecreasing the probability of a neighboring Subscribing Node 820utilizing the offered resource(s) unless the Subscribing Node 820 has arelatively high need for the offered resource(s). In addition toadjusting resource price, in a high congestion situation, the OfferingNode 810 may also refrain from (e.g., not include in an AnnouncingMessage 832) announcing the availability of any resource that includesthe congested/overloaded path, for example to avoid compromising theperformance of the resources already provided to and being utilized bythe other neighbor nodes.

The pricing function may, for example, be adjusted periodically (e.g.,every number of seconds, every number of minutes, every number of hours,etc.), for example based on changes to the Offering Node 810, based onchanges to the context in which the Offering Node 810 is operating, etc.Note, however, that once an agreement is reached for resource price, invarious implementations, the agree-upon price will not change. Forexample, slots already subscribed before the price modifications mayremain associated with the previously-defined price. The rate (orperiod) at which the pricing model is adjusted may be static or may vary(e.g., depending on amount of network utilization, depending on time ofday, day of week, etc.). The period defined for the adjustment of thepricing model should, for example, not be too long to take into accountthe changes in the offering node and/or its general operating context,but also should not be too short such that the Offering Node 810 iscontinually announcing new prices and having to manage a relativelylarge number of resource subscriptions with different nodes anddifferent respective prices.

In an example implementation, the overall pricing model may be definedconsidering the real-time communications and the delay tolerant datatransport (PRICE=Now 11 Later). FIG. 10 presents a graphical example.

The Subscribing Node 820 generally (but not always, as discussed herein)determines the resources that are needed to satisfy its communicationgoals, and calculates how much the Subscribing Node 820 will need tospend to subscribe to such resources. This determination may, forexample, be based on the total slots required (time+bandwidth) and thecurrent pricing model (e.g., as received in an Announcing Message 632).For example, if the Subscribing Node 820 wants to conduct a real-timecommunication immediately, the Subscribing Node 820 will generally haveto pay the maximum price per slot, and then multiply such price by thetime slots needed to achieve the desired bandwidth for the real-timecommunication. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, slots may beaccumulated (within a particular timeframe) to result in an overallaggregate communication bandwidth. If, however, the data to be deliveredcan reach the destination in a delay-tolerant (DT) manner (e.g., withina number of minutes, within a number of hours, within a day, etc.), theSubscribing Node 820 can subscribe to the resources necessary toimplement the data transport for a substantially lower price than theprice for real-time communication resources.

The price for the resources may, for example, depend on the conditionsof the Offering Node 810 combined with the urgency of the SubscribingNode 820 to utilize the resources. For example, for the communication ofa relatively large amount of data, it will generally be cheaper to usedelay-tolerant data communication and/or splitting the data throughdifferent nodes offering different respective pricing. The Offering Node810 may, for example, generally communicate a limit with announcingavailable resources, since there is generally a limit of throughput forreal-time communications and a limit of storage and communications fordelay tolerant transport.

For the pricing function for real-time communications, the Offering Node810 may consider any of a variety of factors, including for example:expected connection time, throughput/bandwidth, link cost, and linkutilization. For the pricing function for delay-tolerant communication,the Offering Node 810 may consider any of a variety of factors,including for exampled: data storage capacity, urgency,importance/priority, and probability of future communicationopportunities. Note also that any or all of the factors discussed hereinmay be considered for the pricing function for real-time communicationand delay-tolerant communication. For example the list of factorsconsidered for real time communication resources may, in someimplementations, be the same as the list of factors considered for delaytolerant communication resources.

Regarding the seventh example aspect, shown graphically as blocks 7 aand 7 b in FIG. 8 and as blocks 907 a and 907 b in FIG. 9, the OfferingNode 810, the Subscribing Node 820, and/or a Billing/Account AggregatorServer 830 may implement various accounting functions. For example, theOffering Node 810 may monitor and measure the resources that eachneighbor Subscribing Node 820 used from its allocated resources (orconnections), for example in order to calculate the real cost thatshould be charged to the other nodes.

In an example implementation, the resources subscribed to by theSubscribing Node 820 and based on the price defined are just anestimation of what the Subscribing Node 820 is intending to use (perhapsin addition to a safety margin), but in mobile communicationenvironments (e.g., vehicle communication networks, etc.) it may not bepossible to use the subscribed resources (or connection) for the definedtime. Thus, in an example implementation, the defined price model isapplied to the resources (e.g., slots, etc.) that are actually used bythe Subscribing Node 820 to which such resources were allocated.

In an example implementation, a central entity (e.g., a Server orBilling/Accounting Aggregator 830) may receive information describingthe utilization of all resources for each node and the cost of eachresource utilization. The central entity may then, for example, providethe daily/weekly/monthly cost that a node spends utilizing the resourcesof other nodes. Note that, as discussed herein, any node can be both anoffering node and a subscribing node during a time period. TheSubscribing Node 820 may, for example, calculate the cost that it spentfor each communication based on the agreed-upon price and the slots (orother resources) actually used (e.g., a usage cost), and thus have anestimation of the final price it will be charged at the end of theday/week/month (or other billing cycle). Both values of the respectivecost calculated by the Offering Node 810 and the Subscribing Node 820should be similar, otherwise they may agree on (or converge to) asolution and notify the Server 830. The Server 830 thus has informationon the cost to be assigned to all nodes. The example Server 830 has anoverall vision of the resources used by the nodes, so it can play animportant role in trying to resolve questions (or disagreements)regarding costs. The overall knowledge can also be used by the Server830 to provide indications (or hints) to the nodes about the averagepricing being charged under different conditions, and to help maintain ahomogeneous and fair pricing model.

Various aspects of the present disclosure will now be presented bydiscussion of various example use scenarios. It should be understoodthat the use scenarios are merely examples, and that the scope of thisdisclosure should not be limited by characteristics of the example usescenarios.

In a first example scenario, a plurality of vehicles (e.g., Mobile APsthereof) are near a Fixed AP. For example, since the resources of theFixed AP (e.g., an Offering Node 810) are limited, the price of offeredresources may grow with the number of vehicles. In such a scenario, justthe vehicle (e.g., Mobile AP thereof, for example a Subscribing Node820) that really needs the resources should be willing to pay therelatively high price, while the others can wait for the nextopportunity. Depending on the bottleneck of the Fixed AP connections,some vehicles (e.g., Mobile APs thereof) may subscribe to resources fordelay tolerant data transport but not subscribe to real-time resourcesfrom the Fixed AP. In scenarios in which there is just one vehicle(e.g., a Mobile AP thereof) nearby a Fixed AP, it should have theadvantage of the existence of an ample supply of resources at arelatively low price. In such case, the Mobile AP may exploit theopportunity to have real-time connections, even if not needed, andoffload as much delay tolerant traffic as possible.

In a second example scenario, a plurality of users may be sharing thesame vehicle (e.g., Mobile AP thereof), for example a bus or other masstransit vehicle. The users may thus have a substantially limitedconnection to the Internet. However, one or more of the user devices (orpassengers) may have an LTE data plan with available communicationresources, so the user device(s) can offer some of its resources (at acost) to other passengers that are requiring a real-time connection. Theprice may, for example, be high depending on the user's LTE data planbut the available communication resources may be valuable for a userthat needs to conduct a video call. There may be more than one userdevice (or passenger) offering LTE resources, so which resources areutilized may ultimately be determined by the price and resourcesprovided by each user device. Note that the user's data provider mayalso direct the offering and/or providing of resources of the user'sdevice (e.g., with or without the user's knowledge).

In a third example scenario, there may be sensors spread over a smallarea, and thus competing for communication resources provided by asingle vehicle (e.g., by a Mobile AP thereof, etc.). The sensors thathave information that still has a substantial amount time remaining toarrive at the destination within a time limit can wait for a nextopportunity. The decision may also depend on context information, suchas the storage of the sensor, the urgency of the information, theprediction of next resources based at least in part on historical data,etc.

In a fourth example scenario, several APs (e.g., Fixed APs, etc.) areconnected to a same Network Controller (NC). Thus, the resources of theNC are shared among the APs. In cases where some of the APs require alot of resources from the NC, the other APs can slow down, reducing theconsumption of resources from the NC connection. Some of the APs may,for example, reduce the resources offered to the vehicles (or Mobile APsthereof) through the Announcing Messages, thus reducing the resourcesrequired from the infrastructure. The selection of the APs that willenter into such a low resource consumption mode depends on the contextinformation, such as the importance of the APs for the on-going coverageand communications.

In a fifth example scenario, various vehicles are connected to theInternet or cloud infrastructure and various other vehicles are not. Insuch scenario, the vehicles (or Mobile APs thereof) with Internet orcloud access may offer resources associated with maintaining such aconnection to other vehicles (or Mobile APs thereof) and/or users (orclient devices). Some of the other vehicles may, for example, haveurgent needs for real-time communication of data, while others havedelay tolerant communication needs and can wait for offers with more orcheaper resources.

A system and/or method implemented in accordance with various aspects ofthe present disclosure offers many benefits. For example, variousaspects of the present disclosure provide a complete system with a setof models, methods, algorithms, etc., to manage the access andutilization of the infrastructure/network. As utilization of theInternet of Things (or Network of Moving Things) increases, it isimportant to develop new models to regulate the utilization of theinfrastructure. It is also beneficial to provide a model for accountingand billing of the systems, which can cope with mobile and dynamicenvironments expected in the Internet of Things (or Network of MovingThings).

Various aspects of this disclosure also provide for the dynamic pricingof offered communication resources, the methods to announce andnegotiate the resources, and the algorithms to effect better decisionson the offered conditions, and better decisions on the accepted offers.

Various aspects of the present disclosure provide models for managingthe utilization of the resources provided by a vehicle communicationnetwork to third parties. In accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure, the utilization of such resources is monetizable ina systematic and clear way. For example, various aspects of the presentdisclosure provide for monetizable utilization of communicationresources in a dynamic vehicle communication network, in which everynode (or most nodes) can share some of its own resources for a specificamount of time.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure severalthird parties may utilize a vehicle communication network (e.g.,utilizing sensors, vehicle fleets, autonomous vehicles, etc.), eachrequiring different respective types of communication resources of thevehicle communication network for different time periods and purposes.In addition to providing access to the needed communication resources,various aspects of this disclosure provide for managing the accountingand billing for these resources. For example, third party utilization ofthe communication resources of the vehicle communication network isbilled at a correct amount, which for example depends on the resourcesutilized and/or on the conditions of the communication network. Thepricing model may, for example, be dynamically adjusted and announced toneighboring nodes.

As explained herein, the functionality (e.g., node action determinationand/or implementation functionality, etc.) discussed herein may beperformed in a single node, for example any or all of the nodesdiscussed herein, but may also be performed in a distributed manner inwhich respective portions of the functionality discussed herein areperformed by respective nodes. A non-limiting example of a networkand/or node implementation is provided at FIG. 11.

FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of various components of an examplenetwork node, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure. The example node 1100 may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the other example methods, method steps, networks,and/or network components 100, 200, 300, 400, 500-570, 600, 700, 800,900, and 1000, discussed herein. For example, any or all of thecomponents of the example node 1100 may perform any or all of the methodsteps presented herein. The example node 1100 may, for example, shareany or all characteristics with the Offering Node 810, the SubscribingNode 820, and/or the Server 830.

The network node 1100 may, for example, comprise any of the networknodes discussed herein, for example an access point (AP) node (e.g., aMobile AP, a Fixed AP, etc.), a Network Controller, a Cloud serverand/or database, a vehicle control system, an autonomous vehicle controlsystem, a client node, etc. The example node 1100 may comprise a varietyof components (or modules), non-limiting examples of which are providedherein. Note that any or all of the components (or modules) may behoused in a single housing, but such configuration is not required. Forexample, in an example implementation, components (or modules)associated with providing access point services may be housed in a firsthousing, and components (or modules) associated with controlling vehiclemovement may be housed in a second housing that is communicativelycoupled to the first housing.

The example node 1100 may, for example, comprise a communicationinterface (I/F) module 1120 (e.g., including a cellular communicationinterface module, mobile or vehicle network communication interfacemodule, Wi-Fi communication interface module, user/client communicationinterface module, etc.) that operates to perform any or all of thewireless and/or wired communication functionality for the node 1100,many examples of which are provided herein (e.g., communication withsensors external to (or of) the node 1100, communication with theonboard diagnostic (OBD) system of a vehicle in which the node 1100 isinstalled, communication with an autonomous vehicle control system of avehicle in which the node 1100 is installed, communication with avehicle dispatcher system, communication with peer nodes, communicationwith Mobile APs and/or Fixed APs, communication with NetworkControllers, communication with client devices, backhaul communication,Cloud server communication, etc.). The communication interface (I/F)module 1120 may, for example, operate in accordance with any of avariety of cellular communication protocols, 3G, 4G, LTE, wireless LANcommunication protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi, etc.), wireless PAN communicationprotocols (e.g., Bluetooth, etc.), 802.11p or DSRC, satellitecommunication protocols, fiber or cable communication protocols, LANprotocols (e.g., Ethernet, etc.), TCP/IP, etc.

The example node 1100 may, for example, comprise a resource offer module1130 that operates to perform any or all of the resource offeringfunctionality discussed herein (e.g., with regard to a Resource OfferingNode 810 or a Resource Management Block 814 thereof, etc.). The exampleresource offer module 1130 may, for example, comprise hardware and/orsoftware that operate to implement any or all of a node's resourceoffering functionality discussed herein. For example, the resource offermodule 1130 may operate to perform any or all of the resource offeringoperations discussed herein in the discussion of FIGS. 8-10 and theother portions of the present disclosure.

The example node 1100 may, for example, comprise a resource subscriptionmodule 1132 that operates to perform any or all of the resourcesubscription functionality discussed herein (e.g., with regard to aResource Subscribing Node 820, or a Resource Management Block 824thereof, etc.). The example resource subscription module 1132 may, forexample, comprise hardware and/or software that operate to implement anyor all of the node's resource subscribing functionality discussedherein. For example, the resource subscription module 1132 may operateto perform any or all of the resource subscription operations discussedherein in the discussion of FIGS. 8-10 and the other portions of thepresent disclosure.

The example node 1100 may, for example, comprise a resource accountingmodule 1134 that operates to perform any or all of the resourceaccounting functionality discussed herein (e.g., with regard to aResource Offering Node 810, a Resource Subscribing Node 820, abilling/accounting aggregator server 830, etc.). The example resourceaccounting module 1134 may, for example, comprise hardware and/orsoftware that operate to implement any or all of the node's resourceaccounting functionality discussed herein. For example, the resourceaccounting module 1134 may operate to perform any or all of the resourceaccounting operations discussed herein in the discussion of FIGS. 8-10and the other portions of the present disclosure.

The example node 1100 may, for example, comprise a Master Control Module1110 that generally manages operation of the node 1100 at a high level.Such Master Control Module 1110 may, for example, comprise variousaspects of an operating system for the node 1100.

The example node 1100 may further, for example, comprise one or moreapplications 1150 executing on the node 1100 (e.g., client managementapplications, security applications, power management applications,vehicle monitoring applications, location services applications, sensorinterface applications, resource management applications for offeringand/or subscribing to node resources, communication applications forwhich communication resources need to be subscribed, etc.).

The example node 1100 may also comprise one or more processors 1180 andmemory devices 1190. The processor(s) 1180 may, for example, compriseany of a variety of processor characteristics. For example, theprocessor(s) 1180 may comprise one or more of a general purposeprocessor, RISC processor, microcontroller, ASIC, DSP, video processor,etc.). The memory device(s) 1190 may, for example comprise any of avariety of memory characteristics. For example, the memory device(s)1190 may comprise a volatile memory, non-volatile memory, etc. Thememory device(s) 1190 may, for example, comprise a non-transitorycomputer-readable (or machine-readable) medium that comprises softwareinstructions that when executed by the processor(s) 1180, cause the node1100 (or modules or entities thereof) to perform any or all of thefunctionality discussed herein (e.g., with regard to the example methodsdiscussed herein, etc.). The memory device(s) 1190 may, for example,store node information (e.g., CNL information, Wi-Fi hotspot listinformation, NIB information, configurable cost function information,resource subscription and/or utilization information, etc.). The memorydevice(s) 1190 may also, for example, store any or all of the contextinformation discussed herein (e.g., vehicle context information,intersection context information, network loading information,communication pathway congestion information, etc.). The memorydevice(s) 1190 may additionally, for example, store any or all of theinformation discussed herein regarding resource offering, resourcesubscribing, resource accounting, etc.

As explained herein, the functionality discussed herein may be performedin a single node, for example any or all of the nodes discussed herein,but may also be performed in a distributed manner in which respectiveportions of the functionality discussed herein are performed byrespective nodes.

In accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, examples of thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,192, titled “CommunicationNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, the networksand/or components thereof presented herein are provided with systems andmethods for integrating such networks and/or components with othernetworks and systems, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/221,997, titled “IntegratedCommunication Network for A Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for synchronizing such networks and/or components,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,016, titled “Systems and Methods forSynchronizing a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing such networks and/or components,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,042, titled “Systems and Methods forManaging a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for monitoring such networks and/or components,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,066, titled “Systems and Methods forMonitoring a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for detecting and/or classifying anomalies insuch networks and/or components, non-limiting examples of which areprovided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,077, titled“Systems and Methods for Detecting and Classifying Anomalies in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing mobility in such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,098, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Managing Mobility in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing connectivity in such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,121, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Managing Connectivity a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for collecting sensor data in such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,135, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Collecting Sensor Data in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep.22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for interfacing with such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,145, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Interfacing with a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for interfacing with a user of such networksand/or components, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,150, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Interfacing with a User of a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for data storage and processing in such networksand/or components, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,168, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Data Storage and Processing for a Network of Moving Things,” filedon Sep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for vehicle traffic management in such networksand/or components, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,183, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Vehicle Traffic Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for environmental management in such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,186, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Environmental Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing port or shipping operation in suchnetworks and/or components, non-limiting examples of which are providedin U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,190, titled “Systems andMethods for Port Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for enhancing the accuracy of positioning orlocation information based at least in part on historical data,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/244,828, titled “Utilizing Historical Data toCorrect GPS Data in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Oct. 22, 2015,which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for enhancing the accuracy of position or locationof positioning or location information based at least in part on theutilization of anchors, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/244,930, titled “Using Anchorsto Correct GPS Data in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Oct. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for providing communication between applications,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/246,368, titled “Systems and Methods forInter-application Communication in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onOct. 26, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for probing, analyzing and/or validatingcommunication, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/246,372, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Probing and Validating Communication in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Oct. 26, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for adapting communication rate, non-limitingexamples of which are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/250,544, titled “Adaptive Rate Control for Vehicular Networks,” filedon Nov. 4, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for reconfiguring and adapting hardware,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/273,878, titled “Systems and Methods forReconfiguring and Adapting Hardware in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 31, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for optimizing the gathering of data, non-limitingexamples of which are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/253,249, titled “Systems and Methods for Optimizing Data Gathering ina Network of Moving Things,” filed on Nov. 10, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for performing delay tolerant networking,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/257,421, titled “Systems and Methods for DelayTolerant Networking in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Nov. 19,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for improving the coverage and throughput ofmobile access points, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/265,267, titled “Systems andMethods for Improving Coverage and Throughput of Mobile Access Points ina Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 9, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for coordinating channel utilization, non-limitingexamples of which are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/270,858, titled “Channel Coordination in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for implementing a network coded mesh network in thenetwork of moving things, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/257,854, titled “Systems andMethods for Network Coded Mesh Networking in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Nov. 20, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for improving the coverage of fixed access points,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/260,749, titled “Systems and Methods forImproving Fixed Access Point Coverage in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Nov. 30, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing mobility controllers and their networkinteractions, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/273,715, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Managing Mobility Controllers and Their Network Interactions in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 31, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for managing and/or triggering handovers ofmobile access points, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/281,432, titled “Systems andMethods for Managing and Triggering Handovers of Mobile Access Points ina Network of Moving Things,” filed on Jan. 21, 2016, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for performing captive portal-related control andmanagement, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/268,188, titled “CaptivePortal-related Control and Management in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 16, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for extrapolating high-value data, non-limitingexamples of which are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/270,678, titled “Systems and Methods to Extrapolate High-Value Datafrom a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 22, 2015, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for providing remote software updating anddistribution, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/272,750, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Remote Software Update and Distribution in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Dec. 30, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for providing remote configuration updating anddistribution, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/278,662, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Remote Configuration Update and Distribution in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Jan. 14, 2016, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for adapting the network, for exampleautomatically, based on user feedback, non-limiting examples of whichare provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/286,243, titled“Systems and Methods for Adapting a Network of Moving Things Based onUser Feedback,” filed on Jan. 22, 2016, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for enhancing and/or guaranteeing data integritywhen building or performing data analytics, non-limiting examples ofwhich are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/278,764,titled “Systems and Methods to Guarantee Data Integrity When BuildingData Analytics in a Network of Moving Things,” Jan. 14, 2016, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for performing self-initialization and/or automatedbootstrapping of mobile access points, non-limiting examples of whichare provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/286,515, titled“Systems and Methods for Self-Initialization and Automated Bootstrappingof Mobile Access Points in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Jan.25, 2016, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing power supply and/or utilization,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/295,602, titled “Systems and Methods for PowerManagement in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Feb. 16, 2016, whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for automating and easing the installation and setupof the infrastructure, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/299,269, titled “Systems andMethods for Automating and Easing the Installation and Setup of theInfrastructure Supporting a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Feb. 24,2016, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In summary, various aspects of this disclosure provide communicationnetwork architectures, systems and methods for supporting a network ofmobile nodes, for example comprising a combination of mobile andstationary nodes. As a non-limiting example, various aspects of thisdisclosure provide communication network architectures, systems, andmethods that provide for cooperative, dynamic, and balanced access tothe communication network infrastructure supporting the Network ofMoving Things. While the foregoing has been described with reference tocertain aspects and examples, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art that various changes may be made and equivalents may besubstituted without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Inaddition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situationor material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing fromits scope. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limitedto the particular example(s) disclosed, but that the disclosure willinclude all examples falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle communication network comprising: afirst node comprising; at least one first communication circuit; and atleast one first module comprising a first processor and first memory,the at least one first module of the first node operable to, at least:identify an offered resource that is available for utilization;determine an offered cost associated with the offered resource; andutilize the at least one first communication circuit to transmit a firstmessage comprising information describing the offered resource and theoffered cost; and a Mobile Access Point (MAP) comprising: at least oneMAP communication circuit; and at least one MAP module comprising a MAPprocessor and MAP memory, the at least one MAP module operable to, atleast: utilize the at least one MAP communication circuit to providewireless local area network services to one or more client devices thatare within range of the MAP; identify a needed resource that is neededby the MAP for performing a communication; receive the first messagetransmitted by the first node; determine, based at least in part on theneeded resource, the offered resource, and the offered cost, whether torequest the offered resource; and if it is determined to request theoffered resource, then at least: utilize the at least one MAPcommunication circuit to transmit a second message to the first noderequesting the offered resource; and utilize the at least one MAPcommunication circuit to perform the communication.
 2. The vehiclecommunication network of claim 1, wherein the first node comprises anaccess point of the vehicle communication network.
 3. The vehiclecommunication network of claim 1, wherein the at least one first moduleof the first node is operable to determine whether to transmit the firstmessage based, at least in part, on a location and/or trajectory of theMAP.
 4. The vehicle communication network of claim 1, wherein the atleast one first module of the first node is operable to determine thecost associated with the offered resource based, at least in part, on avehicle and/or vehicle fleet with which the MAP is associated.
 5. Thevehicle communication network of claim 1, wherein the at least one firstmodule of the first node is operable to: receive the second message fromthe MAP; and in response to the received second message: grant theoffered resource to the MAP; monitor use of the offered resource by theMAP; and determine a charged cost, different from the offered cost, ofthe MAP's utilization of the offered resource.
 6. The vehiclecommunication network of claim 1, wherein the at least one MAP module ofthe MAP is operable to determine whether to request the offered resourceby, at least in part, comparing the offered cost to a cost objective. 7.The vehicle communication network of claim 6, wherein the at least oneMAP module of the MAP is operable to determine the cost objective based,at least in part, on an amount of time remaining to perform thecommunication.
 8. The vehicle communication network of claim 6, whereinthe at least one MAP module of the MAP is operable to determine the costobjective based, at least in part, on whether the communication is areal-time communication or a delay-tolerant communication
 9. The vehiclecommunication network of claim 1, wherein the at least one MAP module ofthe MAP is operable to determine whether to request the offered resourcebased, at least in part, on location and/or trajectory of the MAP.
 10. Afirst node of a vehicle communication network, the first nodecomprising: at least one communication circuit; and at least one modulecomprising a processor and memory, the at least one module operable to,at least: identify an offered resource that is available forutilization; determine an offered cost associated with the offeredresource; and utilize the at least one communication circuit to transmita first message comprising information describing the offered resourceand the offered cost; receive a second message from a Mobile AccessPoint (MAP) of the vehicle communication network requesting the offeredresource; and in response to the received second message, at least:allocate the offered resource to the MAP; and utilize the at least onecommunication circuit to provide a wireless communication service to theMAP utilizing the allocated resource.
 11. The first node of claim 10,wherein the first node comprises a fixed access point of the vehiclecommunication network.
 12. The first node of claim 10, wherein the atleast one module is operable to determine whether to transmit the firstmessage based, at least in part, on a location and/or trajectory of theMAP.
 13. The first node of claim 10, wherein the at least one module isoperable to determine the cost associated with the offered resourcebased, at least in part, on a communication network load balancingobjective.
 14. The first node of claim 10, wherein the at least onemodule is operable to determine the cost associated with the offeredresource based, at least in part, on a vehicle and/or vehicle fleet withwhich the MAP is associated.
 15. The first node of claim 10, wherein theat least one module is operable to determine the cost associated withthe offered resource based, at least in part, on whether the offeredresource is being offered for real-time communication or delay-tolerantcommunication.
 16. The first node of claim 10, wherein: the offeredresource comprises a communication link; and the information describingthe offered resource comprises communication link bandwidth informationand communication link quality information.
 17. The first node of claim10, wherein the at least one module is operable to, in response to thereceived second message, at least: grant the offered resource to theMAP; monitor use of the resource by the MAP; and determine a chargedcost, different from the offered cost, of the MAP's utilization of theoffered resource.
 18. A Mobile Access Point (MAP) of a vehiclecommunication network, the MAP comprising: at least one wirelesscommunication circuit; at least one module comprising a processor andmemory, the at least one module operable to, at least: utilize the atleast one wireless communication circuit to provide wireless local areanetwork services to one or more client devices that are within range ofthe MAP; identify a needed resource that is needed by the MAP forperforming a communication; receive a first message transmitted by afirst node of the vehicle communication network, the first messagecomprising information describing an offered resource and an offeredcost associated with the offered resource; determine, based at least inpart on the needed resource, the offered resource, and the offered cost,whether to request the offered resource; and if it is determined torequest the offered resource, then at least: utilize the at least onewireless communication circuit to transmit a second message to the firstnode requesting the offered resource; and utilize the at least onewireless communication circuit to perform the communication.
 19. TheMobile Access Point (MAP) of claim 18, wherein the at least one moduleis operable to determine whether to request the offered resource by, atleast in part, comparing the offered cost to a cost objective.
 20. TheMobile Access Point (MAP) of claim 19, wherein the at least one moduleis operable to determine the cost objective based, at least in part, onan amount of time remaining to perform the communication.
 21. The MobileAccess Point (MAP) of claim 19, wherein the at least one module isoperable to determine the cost objective based, at least in part, onhistorical cost of the needed resource.
 22. The Mobile Access Point(MAP) of claim 19, wherein the at least one module is operable todetermine the cost objective based, at least in part, on whether thecommunication is a real-time communication or a delay-tolerantcommunication.
 23. The Mobile Access Point (MAP) of claim 18, whereinthe at least one module is operable to determine whether to request theoffered resource based, at least in part, on location and/or trajectoryof the MAP.
 24. The Mobile Access Point (MAP) of claim 18, wherein theat least one module is operable to: monitor utilization of the offeredresource by the MAP; and determine a usage cost, different from theoffered cost, for the MAP's utilization of the offered resource.
 25. TheMobile Access Point (MAP) of claim 18, wherein the at least one moduleis operable to asynchronously send a message requesting the neededresource without first receiving the first message.